ON KINDNESS AND CARE

Curated by Vikki McInnes

|| please note the works below contain references to suicide ||

Video with closed captions available HERE

JEMI  GALE

i could say whatever i want and be free from all this

distressed at the sound of my own voice i stop reading aloud
even though it's meant to
be read aloud
voice disabled
sick and in trouble

loved ones
u have to stop writing poems about me
u have to stop making it obvious
a window into my heart

you are forced into believing that you have no emotions
i think for the first time in my life i want someone to lie to me and say they are sorry
the citadel in my heart has been compromised
i want to show you my corpse and all of my suffering

climbing inside my own throat to dismantle myself

I got my heart broken by a fraudulent millionaire
and i dare you to be alone

contributing to social change by making out with your friend in public

i wish i could b empty inside like you
the leading cause of infertility
looking directly into your eyes and you can't see me

i'm sleepy all the time because i'm exhausted from being obsessed
woke up feeling like i'm the only person left on earth
i can’t change my body because you’d like it less
have you ever been not good enough

going to paris to jump off the eiffel tower
i can never return to the lake
i die from loneliness

bad hygiene as self defence

i can feel my brain turning to poison
dumb smart
sometimes even when you're trying as hard as u can u choose the wrong option
if u have some insanity show all of it to the public

hold on to everything
if you let it out no one can ever like you
i wish i could pretend to like someone i don't
maybe there is something inside me and once I cut it out I can feel better
die while you are happy

i tell myself i feel okay now

when you tell me i’m kind
i think in emotions
you can get what you want

separating toothpaste and blood
i forgot about you

i hope one day i can take my sunglasses off
but out of fear i glued them to my face
everything i put down my throat writes a poem
its described as being about suicide but actually its just about pop music
waiting for it to get better
are you always waiting

a list of all my insecurities
vitamin b12 supplement as a meal
i learn to not eat again just for
you to dissolve in my mouth

i can’t go to sleep because im scared
i might dream about you again
i’ve done this so much that
waking up reminds me of you

bone brain

i ask you to explain your question
as the words in it have too many syllables
if i could think i’d ask you anything
i don't know why you’d cause someone pain and not beat them up
i’ve never had a life experience

i’m disposable
you can find someone like me
please reuse me

i caught myself thinking about cruelty again
wait 2 business days
how can i be good

i don't want to write a poem about how i’m dying alone