Captivity

captivity | kapˈtɪvɪti |

noun

the condition of being imprisoned or confined.

Stripped down and afraid we face each other. We snarl and claw and we cling with fierce desperation to little words devoid of meaning. We use the exposed flesh of strangers to hurt each other and then we stand back to cry over what we've become. We killed the goddess and we killed the lover, we sacrificed innocence to stand here in this naked moment - animal to animal. We sneer and bare our teeth at one another in the cage we constructed out of our shared illusions and pride. We reach for each other and find words that turn into more cages to hold us later.

Stereotype

stereotype |ˈstɛrɪə(ʊ)tʌɪp,ˈstɪərɪə(ʊ)|
noun
a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

I see these things they say about who you are and who I am and who we are supposed to be in relation to one another and I know they are not true. I see what they say about your inability to trust and to relate and to care and I know they are not true. I see what they say about my weakness and my place and my devotion and I know they are not true. I see how they ignore the glorious subtleties of your humanity and mine and my heart breaks because they will forever miss out on all the beautiful things we are to each other.