you take my arms
so I can wash the dishes
so I can wipe away your tears
and you take my legs
so I can walk a mile in your shoes
so I can learn to be empathetic, to hurt, to hate, to know
that’s what it is like when you fight
you grab one arm, and you grab the other
pulling fast enough that I am split down the middle

you take my mind
so I can think like you
so I agree with your arguments
and you take my hope
so I am desolate like you
so I am lost, confused, and sad
that’s what it is like when you fight
you tear me apart, limb by limb
pulling fast enough that I can’t figure out how to put myself back together

you stand on the sidelines
so you can watch me cry
so you can watch me fix the puzzle
and you criticize from those sidelines
so you can halt my progress
so I won’t be able to fix myself or anything at all
that’s what it is like when you leave me alone
you leave me to figure it all out, piece by piece
abandoning me fast enough that I don’t remember your support

you couldn’t take my heart
so you left it alone
so you left me alone
and you couldn’t take my heart
so you let it rip itself
so you let it break, fade, and fall away
that’s what it is like when you leave me alone
you leave me to try to fix the heart that broke in the fallout
abandoning me fast enough that I don’t care to fix myself

you. give me my arms
so I can finish my homework
so I can wipe away my own tears
and you. give me my legs
so I can face my own obstacles
so I can leave you two behind
that’s what it is like when you send me away
you send me to an assembly line to be fixed, limb by limb
sending me fast enough that you don’t have to se the pain

you. give me my mind
so I can think for myself
so I can work all of this out
and you. give me my hope
so I can hope to leave this place
so I can dream of a better tomorrow
that’s what it is like when you send me away
you send me to an assembly line that is falling apart, piece by piece
breaking me down fast enough that I can’t escape

you. give me my mouth
so I can speak
so I can say what I feel
and you. close your mouth
so I can open mine
so I can say what’s been sealed inside
that’s what it is like when I decide to walk away
you watch me as I pick a path you didn’t choose
watching me walk away so fast that I forget the past

you can take my heart, one half
so you can remember me
so you can know it’s broken. Done
and you can take the other half
so I can leave without it
so I can know that I don’t need it anymore
that’s what it is like when I decide to run away
you watch me as I give up on you and everything else
watching me give up and pick up again all in the same step