I Want to Be a Stand-Up Comedian

I want to be a stand-up comedian.
I want to stand in front of the world,
with nothing but a mic.

I want to make people laugh,
lols, lmao, roflmao,
the kind of laughing
that makes you hold your belly,
pee a little,
forget everything for a second.

I want to say things I’ve never said out loud.
Drop my secrets,
my traumas,
wrapped in humor
so they go down easy.

I want to tell the truth
the only way I know how:
in punchlines,
in the silence between them,
in the crack of my voice
when the room goes quiet.

I want to speak the worst parts of me
in a way that makes people feel
better about the worst parts of themselves.

I want them to laugh
at the things that almost destroyed me,
and leave
feeling a little less alone.