---

done growing in concrete 

gaslight central,

you were always the

victim even when

you weren’t;

never had any interest

in me unless i had

something you could take—

guess it came as a rude

awakening when i took the 

scissors you stabbed into

my back and cut all ties between us,

but even when i pushed you the

furthest away i possibly could;

you never really understood why i left you behind—

i was tired of watering a garden that 

would never grow,

our friendship would’ve died years ago 

had i stopped watering it then;

i decided i was done making excuses for you—

flowers can grow in concrete,

but if they have a chance to grow somewhere

more healthy then they truly should.

---

Linda M. Crate‘s works have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies both online and in print. She is the author of ten published chapbooks, four full-lengths, and three micro-chaps. She has a novella, also, called Mates (Alien Buddha Publishing, March 2022).