<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877861086495604504</id><updated>2012-02-17T06:33:55.286+11:00</updated><title type='text'>behaving like a child of the gutter</title><subtitle type='html'></subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://childofthegutter.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/877861086495604504/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://childofthegutter.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>E</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06300008096656029368</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s6wKz4f_ba8/TLQ0g4mdOCI/AAAAAAAAASc/mIOT279FCX8/S220/weheartit+com+entry+114614.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>2</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877861086495604504.post-4518213209514658970</id><published>2009-12-07T13:39:00.004+11:00</published><updated>2010-06-25T22:06:05.530+10:00</updated><title type='text'>new year's day</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial;"&gt;Post removed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/877861086495604504-4518213209514658970?l=childofthegutter.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://childofthegutter.blogspot.com/feeds/4518213209514658970/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://childofthegutter.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-years-day.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/877861086495604504/posts/default/4518213209514658970'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/877861086495604504/posts/default/4518213209514658970'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://childofthegutter.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-years-day.html' title='new year&apos;s day'/><author><name>E</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06300008096656029368</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s6wKz4f_ba8/TLQ0g4mdOCI/AAAAAAAAASc/mIOT279FCX8/S220/weheartit+com+entry+114614.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877861086495604504.post-7718713158479576774</id><published>2009-07-27T20:24:00.002+10:00</published><updated>2009-07-27T20:28:44.646+10:00</updated><title type='text'>numbing the pain</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align="justify"&gt;If I stopped, the pain in my chest would start again. It stabbed, radiated and throbbed so I kept moving. As fast as I could. Anything to stop the pain. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;
I followed Tara into the Ladies and watched as she took a foil packet out of her purse and opened it to reveal two small pills. She offered one to me in the small, grungy cubicle. I took it and washed it down with my straight-up vodka, in the blue light of the dirty bathroom. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;
Out on the dance floor, I let the base from the DJ rhythmically beat through my body, making it feel like my heart was beating in time. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;
Anything to stop the pain.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;Effects from the pill took hold and I danced for hours, stopping only for more vodka and a joint we smoked out on the street, away from the cigarette smokers.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;In my own world on the dance floor, I let myself only hear the beat of the music and I only saw the strobe lighting flash the room. I closed my eyes and felt my arms and legs move of their own accord as song after song was played. I didn’t even know if I was moving as I closed my eyes.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;That night, I danced for hours under the influence of alcohol and elicit drugs. The repetitive base thumped through my body and I closed my eyes, feeling only the music. Letting the dark-haired man dance up against me, his hands exploring my body as far as they dared, his brazen lips grazing my neck as we danced.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;I didn’t know if I lead him outside, or if I followed him, but I found myself down a nearby residential street, back against a brick wall, gasping as my new friend half-kissed, half-bit, my neck.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;A brief moment of clarity hit me and it asked what I was doing outside someone else’s house, the crisp night air sending a shiver through my body, as he ran his hands over my bra-covered breasts.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;A familiar pain suddenly staked through my heart, causing me to double over in pain. To silence the voice and to help ease the pain, I took the guy’s face in my hands, directing his back to my face, kissing him as hard as I could.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;I let him fuck me in the alley beside my house, against a brick wall, next to my neighbour’s rubbish bins, put out for collection in the morning. I couldn’t remember what his name, let alone if he was any good.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;I remember climbing into bed, exhausted, as daylight broke through the gap in the curtains. As my head hit the soft pillow, I pulled my body into the foetal position, waiting for sleep to wash over my body. Instead, I was engulfed by grief. I gulped for air as soundless tears racked my body.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;He had left.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;He had chosen her.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;Not me.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;He was gone.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;It killed me.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;Sleep didn’t come quickly enough, so I downed a sleeping tablet. I had tried to forget him. I had used drugs and alcohol to numb the pain, and casual sex to give me something else to think about, something else to feel badly about.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;He couldn’t be forgotten.
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align="justify"&gt;The pain in my heart wouldn’t ease.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/877861086495604504-7718713158479576774?l=childofthegutter.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://childofthegutter.blogspot.com/feeds/7718713158479576774/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://childofthegutter.blogspot.com/2009/07/numbing-pain.html#comment-form' title='5 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/877861086495604504/posts/default/7718713158479576774'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/877861086495604504/posts/default/7718713158479576774'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://childofthegutter.blogspot.com/2009/07/numbing-pain.html' title='numbing the pain'/><author><name>E</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/06300008096656029368</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='31' height='21' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s6wKz4f_ba8/TLQ0g4mdOCI/AAAAAAAAASc/mIOT279FCX8/S220/weheartit+com+entry+114614.jpg'/></author><thr:total>5</thr:total></entry></feed>
