Bottled Personality

I often feel like a snake oil salesman during formal introductions .

I realize this may sound stupid.

After all, I’m just a

Girl?

Boy?

Something? Maybe.

We’ll call it fey, or they, and see if it sticks .

But I smile, my teeth a little too sharp,

And stare at the person before me ;

Only half-hearing her name as she says it,

Sizing her up,

And trying to figure out what she wants from me .

I keep my personality in bottles ,

And use it to self-medicate .

Come one, come all, and try my wares

Look at these lovely little vials over here

The pink one is ethereal joy! It’ll bubble up, come spilling out of ya

As if it were the first day of summer

The caffeine makes me tolerable .

A few cups slammed back at the start (or end) of the day

Loosen my tongue and make me feel like perhaps

Conversation is viable .

I don’t tell anyone I hate the taste of coffee .

This green one is despicable envy!

It’ll claw at y our sides and shake your bones loose --

Skeletons are in style anyway

The alcohol makes me loose

Less of a bitch

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told “You’re too uptight,

Take things too seriously”

It throws rhythm back into my heart and my legs and arms

And I dance while my nose bleeds because

Vodka and I

Disagree on several points

It’ll cure all that ails ya though

Lavender, beryl, chartreuse, cerulean

I spend hours and dollars alike on hair dye

And wait for it to set even as my personality shifts

Kaleidoscopic

Before I have a chance to wash it out and see its full potential

Emerald

I wait and hope and pray for the day when Adderall is an option

Garnet

Or for something to help clear the fog

Goldenrod

Hell, just give me a box for all my loose screws

Come one, come all

I watch as her expression shifts and gauge what she wants from me even as she asks

“What’s your name?”

I don’t know what to tell her

I pop open the cork and slam the liquid back

It tastes like coffee

And a little bit like rust orange

Civility and lies

“Call me Kit.”

________

Hello world! I hope you enjoyed this poem; it only seemed fitting as an introductory post. As a bit of background and context, I am a twenty-six year old queer author, poet, storyteller, and geek of all trades. I look forward to creating additional content on this platform, and hope you'll stick around for the ride. Thanks for reading!