We dare you.
so,
go on then.
we dare you.
we dare you, go on–
no need to be so shy about it!
you like to write,
right?
we dare you, kid, go on–
we’ve seen those little drafts
hidden away in notebooks,
between shopping lists
and diary entries
lamenting lost love (or whatever those scribbles say),
but this is the big leagues!
and if not the big leagues – at least
bigger than your diary.
we dare you, you, go on–
it’s the first edition, so go big.
dig deep, what’ve you got?
get vulnerable–
there must be something weird hidden away
in a google doc or (maybe you’re a traditionalist)
a word file saved under ‘DO NOT READ’.
you’re safe, we promise.
no one even has to know who you are.
we dare you, honey, go on–
we bet you look good under all those layers
just peel a couple back for us, would you?
no need to go all the way,
we’re not those kind of people, although–
if you’re offering,
we wouldn’t say no.
see, that’s the way. doesn’t it feel good,
writing some smutty little poem,
thinking you’re innovating
sitting at your desk, believing you’re
so intelligent, such a good writer,
no one will have thought of this angle.
we dare you, baby, go on–
you can go deeper.
try another angle.
really put your all into it this time, yeah?
this is important. this is how you prove it.
we dare you to prove it.
are you sure you look good under all those layers?
isn’t that a bit fucking presumptuous?
we’ll be the judge of that, thanks.
wait till our editorial board sees this.
you really think they’re going to like it?
try harder, won’t you–
a couple more layers–
nobody needs to know who you are,
at the end of the day
you’re just words.
you’re nothing without us.
we dare you, freak, go on–
go deeper. show us more.
it’s not just sexy, is it, really,
it’s not just pressure in the fun way–
not a pressure at the base of your spine
but a pressure that throbs behind the temples,
we dare you, slut, go on.
you can go deeper–
we dare you.
wasn’t that a bit too revealing?
it was only a dare,
don’t be so fucking weird about it.