I'll Never be Fine — Summary

You try to talk to me but I refuse to listen. You try to tell me you don't care anymore but I block out your words. You try to tell me it will never work but I just cover my ears and avoid the hurt. You tell me you don't love me. I tell you that I'll be fine. However in this story, that was a fatal lie. I'll never be fine. I will still have the scars the bruises the pain on my sides. You were my antidepressants. Now with you gone I'll never be fine.

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Karly's poem is about the aftermath of a breakup, told by someone who first pretends to cope and then admits they can't. At the start, the speaker shuts out every attempt to talk. They ignore the words, cover their ears, and dodge the hurt by refusing to hear it. Even when the other person says they don't love them, the speaker answers, "I'll be fine."

Then the poem turns. The speaker calls that line "a fatal lie" and says plainly, "I'll never be fine." The mention of scars, bruises and "the pain on my sides" suggests the hurt is felt physically, though the poem doesn't say whether these are literal or figurative. The most striking line is "You were my antidepressants," which shows how much the speaker relied on this person to feel okay. The mood is raw and heavy, with short, blunt lines and a repeated refrain that sounds more like despair than a promise of recovery.

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