I Love You But Shut The Fuck Up For A Second
You climb into bed already mid-sentence about that thing your coworker said three days ago that still eats at you
Eyes wide, arms waving
pacing at the foot of the mattress while I lie there in a t-shirt
waiting for you to get through
You replay the conversation line by line
assign motives, imagine outcomes
craft responses you will never send
Then loop back to the start and run it again
same script, same tension, same dead end.
I watch the way your jaw tightens
the way your shoulders reach for your ears
the way your hands twist the sheets into knots
You haven’t taken a full breath in fifteen minutes
every worry breeding two new ones in the same spots
I toss in a “yeah, that sucked” or “you did fine
” hoping it lands as an anchor in this storm
But your brain dodges every reassurance like a drunk driver
swerving back to the crash in perfect form.
You aren’t doing this on purpose
your mind just loves reruns of every awkward moment you ever felt
Still
watching you beat yourself bloody with words while I sit inches away makes my own patience melt
I want to shake you and kiss you and smother you in a pillow all in the same breath.
I love you, but shut the fuck up for a second
not forever, just long enough to see where you stand
That voice in your head is not holy scripture
it is a glitchy radio, not a command, Lay down
put your head on my chest
listen to my stupid tired heart keep time with your restless hand
I love you, but shut the fuck up for a second
give your brain a chance to land.
You start to argue with me about why you’re a disaster
listing old mistakes like charges in a court, Judge
jury, prosecution, witness
all piled into one exhausted report
I interrupt with a kiss that steals half a sentence
then another
then one more until your rant falls out of tune
You pull back laughing, call me rude
then rest your forehead against mine
finally quiet in the room.
Silence settles awkward on you
like an outfit you never learned to wear in the light
You twitch, reach for another worry to fill the gap
I catch your hand, keep it pressed to my ribs
hold tight
Whispering you do not have to earn your right to exist by speaking troubles all night.
I love you, but shut the fuck up for a second
not forever, just long enough to see where you stand
That voice in your head is not holy scripture
it is a glitchy radio, not a command, Lay down
put your head on my chest
listen to my stupid tired heart keep time with your restless hand
I love you, but shut the fuck up for a second
give your brain a chance to land.
We can schedule a rant hour tomorrow
I will bring snacks and let you vent every angle
Tonight, bed is not a courtroom
this body is not the dock, we don’t need to tangle
Let me hold you while the thoughts slow down
while the worst case scenarios fade under messed up hair
We can pick them up again in daylight if you still care enough to drag them there.
I love you, but shut the fuck up for a second
feel my arms, feel this mattress
feel the fact that you are not alone
Your brain runs marathons through imaginary disasters while the real world just wants you home
You do not need to solve every conflict before sleep
you do not need a script for every unknown, I love you
but shut the fuck up for a second
let the quiet set the tone.
When your thoughts start sprinting toward another all-night trial where you lose no matter what evidence you bring
Hear my voice in the dark saying “I love you, now hush
come here, don’t say a thing.”