Dad / I don’t think you understand / I’m bleeding here / I’m not trying to waste your time / I just want some gauze / and maybe you could teach me a type of conversation that doesn’t make my mouth feel like sandpaper / and teach me how to shave / and tell me how to get a girl the good ol’ fashioned way / and how to rip band aids off in a way that doesn’t hurt / and how to make the best ragout in town / and how to grow up into a person / and how to keep my heart soft / and how to show compassion / and how to disappear in a way that doesn’t make anyone sad / and how to be something more than an empty space in someone’s life / and how to find a place that fits all of my pain / and how to be less difficult to swallow / and how to be tolerable / and how to be brave but not arrogant / and how to fit into a crowd without slouching my shoulders / and how to not become the story where the boy starts as a rabbit and ends up a wolf.
Mal Fawzy is an Arab writer living in Italy. He loves cats and writing his heart out. You can find some info about him on https://fawzy.carrd.co.