the app
sends
celebratory
alerts for
consecutive
days posting
a digital
carrot to
keep traffic
flowing

it makes me
feel more
exposed
rather than
inspired

people have
tried to
control me
by reading
and then
pretending
to be there
all while
misunderstanding
metaphors and
chasing the
wrong scent
and while i
am not smart
i can still
see the strings
tugging me

i wrote daily
without break
for six years
until it broke
me to realize
how easily
manipulated
it made me

choking down
my only release
from the overload
when everything
is fucking everything
all the goddamned time

i mean every word
i don’t say
it’s the rest
when things get
tricky