From the Outward Poems
by Chad Beattie
The need
I feel the need to laugh
I feel the need to loathe
spit
fall
conquer
deceive
sin
I feel the need to drown inside you
I feel the need to drown you inside me
I feel the need to kill
I feel the need to want
I feel the need to need
and when I no longer
feel any need
I will feel
nothing
at all
where I belong
is nowhere
in the word
in the chord
in the feeling
in the tangible essence
of my surroundings
in the given place and time
and forever beyond
I belong
nowhere
and nowhere belongs
to me
textbooks
what they don't teach you
in textbooks
is how to survive
with nothing
but the clothes on your back
what they don't teach you
in textbooks
is how to dodge a bullet
how to stop a rape
how to prevent murder
what they don't teach you
in textbooks
is that nothing should separate you
from your dreams
that you should never
build a wall
between your desires
and your actions
what they don't teach you
in textbooks
is that terrible things happen
to good people
and sometimes a person
dies
before he or she
has the chance
to live
what they don't teach you
in textbooks
is that nothing is important
besides you
and the one you love
and nothing
(not even reality)
should stand
between the two
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