Letter to a Lover, From a Mama's Boy

[BW BRINE]

I’m waiting for the holiday to amplify my mood;
the change is taking longer than it should.
And even though your relatives are having lots of fun,
I am not feeling even slightly good.

The Christmas tree is glowing with a headache-causing hue.
The cookies have way too much cinnamon.
And every time aunt Lisa laughs I feel like I will die;
her voice, to me, is a carcinogen.

I chose to leave this letter so you would know where I am;
I wouldn’t ever want you to feel blue.
Forgive me - I’m a coward - and I don’t deserve your love.
Please tell aunt Lisa that it’s her not you.

Maybe there is something wrong with me.
There’s a decent chance I won’t recover.
Just like all the other men who failed to carry on,
I will go back home to live with mother.

-BW BRINE