Cheap Therapy Cheat Sheet by Tanja Lau

Cheap Therapy Cheat SheetTanja LauThis poem was originally published by Part-Time Poets. Issue 29.No excuses. Pick your next move:Some people scream into pillows, others nametheir grief Steve and set a place for him at dinner.Mine is called Ernesto, he’s Swedish and he’s a strangerto daylight, so I forgive him. Naturally, he likes to quoteKierkegaard. That guy knew a thing or two aboutconnecting the dots backwards. But it’s the partabout living fast-forward Ernie conveniently swallows.It still gets me every time. You know,Ernesto can be a bit dramatic. He always wants meto dress for my own funeral. But I pick the red backlessdress instead and microwave my lunch at 4 p.m. like Lady Madrid.Yes, it’s good china Wednesday. Everyday. Time to crackopen that bottle of champagne I’ve been savingfor a special occasion. What’s more specialthan being alive? After dinner, I serve two Oreoslike communion. (Take three, if you’re religious.)For dessert there’s nothing better than writingmy name on the mirror. Kissing it. (With tonguefor advanced patients). And then the grand finale:smashing the handmade mug from third gradepottery class and spending two hours reassembling it.Same same, but different. Just like me. In bed,I make a vow to never again miss a chanceto dance it out in an elevator. Ernesto wouldn’t approve.Who cares? He’s asleep by now.More from Tanja Lau ↓@tanias.butterflies on InstagramTania's Butterflies on SubstackListen to me read Rumors by Tanja on Instagram @rembrandts.cureMentioned in this episode:Write After with One Poem OnlyWrite After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. If you want to join: Listen to a poem from the month of April on One Poem Only, then write your own in response. I will pick one for each day to read in June for a special series: One Poem After 🍎🍏 Submissions close May 15.Write After Submissions Form