Queen

There is a game

we all are trained to play

We become

chess masters 

from the very beginning

We learn 

what we are supposed to 

to be seen and not heard

Do what I say and not what I do

The rules are laid out

from the slightest disapproving glance

to a blistering backhand

We are engrained
inscripted
accutely
cognitively
encoded
with directions
on how to

curb
smooth

edit 

censor

and gage 

the truth
before we even know what it is

and then, before we know it

we cannot handle it

we can't handle hearing it 

and we can't handle telling it 
which is a shame

because if you leave this 
human 
being

without telling your whole truth 

the raw truth 

the pure truth 

about who you really are 

then your time here 

will feel incomplete 
you will writhe like so many others
in your uncomfortable death bed

Your travels to the other side 

made even more painful and rough

and is death not scary enough?

When I am finally laid out

I hope to rest in peace 

because I surely do not right now 

for those in my life 

who will not tell me their truth 

because they can't

they won't

they shouldn't 

they're afraid 

they don't understand 

or they do
stink to high heaven

because they are full of bullshit 

I 

will 

not 

waste 

your 

time

because I refuse to waste mine

So 

do 

not 

waste 

my 

time

because you should not waste your own

Life is too priceless

to spend on mindless exercise 

such as strategy

I am not a pawn that begins battles for you 

or a knight who serves and protects

I am not a sly rook

Nor a stable bishop

Certainly not an idle king

I am a Queen 

who can move in 
any 
direction 
she wants

So if you approach me with the mindset of playing a game

be ready for what I toss back at you 

because my life doesn't follow the rules

my truth usually breaks them 

and I am tired 
of trying to figure out my opponents strategy 

Life isn't a game to me

You may be having fun

but be careful 

Consider this your fair warning 

I 
have 
nothing 
more
to 
lose

and that may make me dangerous 

because I 
am not playing

anymore.