Phrases — Summary

lakewritingCheerful

Phrases keep sticking and falling To my brain Like band aids Metaphors Like how in math If I were put on a graph There would be no solution But I could not be two parallel lines Like how Oreos can split apart in any way And I can split apart in any way And I am splitting apart in every way

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The speaker is trying to describe a feeling that ordinary words can't quite hold, so they reach for comparisons. Phrases stick and fall in their mind like band-aids, never staying put and never really fixing anything. Then come the metaphors: a math graph with no solution, and an Oreo that can split apart in any direction.

The math image is the most interesting. The speaker says they couldn't even be two parallel lines, which suggests they don't feel steady or predictable, and they don't line up neatly beside anyone or anything. They are a problem that can't be solved.

The mood is anxious and quietly desperate, but the tone stays casual, almost offhand. That contrast makes it hit harder. The last lines shift from "can split apart" to "am splitting apart in every way," moving from a possibility to something happening right now. The poem ends on that sense of falling apart, with no comfort offered.

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