healing
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Safe hands Touch only when wanted. Safe hands Caress gently up, willing and excited legs. Safe hands Hold other hands softly, Never by force. Safe hands Only slide into pants, Directly invited inside. Safe hands Never pull back to strike. Safe hands Don’t squeeze fragile things. Safe Hands Don’t hurt things. Safe hands Don’t take…
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Snuggled in tight, his arm around my neck. His legs wrapped around mine to hold me down. My flailing screams,Bursting out of control. My small body,Shrieking for help. He couldn’t hold my feelings long enough to walk me through them. So he held onto me, until my feelings stopped. There was no escape. His headlock, an ironclad cage. Foaming at my rabid…
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On nights when I toss and turn. There are no cold sides left on my pillow, I imagine I’m a maiden that’s been sent off across the sizzling pink pond. I imagine they sent me here to find a better life. I force my heart to believe mothers sending me letters, I just can’t receive. …
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There was a timeI dreamed of having a stalker.You know, Someone who really took an interest in me. A man willing to wait outside buildings with a baseball bat to scare off anyone who thought they’d have my hand. How endearing, I used to think. Lurking in the shadowsMemorizing every inch of my existenceWaiting for…
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In her attic, hot with sweat I look up at her desk. The prettiest gel pens rolling around. Stamps Falling out of drawers Ink packs stacked too highFlowers pressed on paper Shimmering in the small lamp light A smile lit up her face whenever we were hereI never understood How they said she was cruel…
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Do not fear They demanded of us. From the moment I can remember,The world was scary. There’s something out there,They told us. He’s here to save us. All this fear, it’s lying to youTrust in that thing out there. They’d insist. Lay your fear aside Everything that’s scary,It really isn’t real. it’s all a faithless…
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When the sunshine comes Be sure your mouth is open. When your mouth is openBe sure to eat it. When you eat ItBe sure you taste it. And when you taste it Be sure to remember it.
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On the merry go roundShe let her hair down Pushing her harderHands held tight Eyes strained upSpinning in space Wind whipping locks out of placeSewn into her smiling face So dizzy, she became But still They spin her round Metal, hot to the touch Sizzling tender thighs Fingers getting tired Fearing she’ll fly into spaceThey…
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sat on the side of her white tile bathtub,mouth open widein went the soap acid on my tongue. what had I said? I can’t remember now. but that rancid taste, her steaming angry face imprinted forever in my mind. it’s just odd it happened twice . in that haunted red house. first when I…
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My palms pound the headboard Searching for the source of buzzingRattling me awake.Another lucid dream sent to live in rifts around my psyche,I bat my eyes and press my feet to the carpet. I reflect on the moment the ship was going down“Where are the life jackets?” I scream at my dad as he dove…
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Bubbles running to the surface. Light blurry from above. Rainbows shimmer up the walls. I beg to see just one more rainbowPlastered across the rippling sky. One more chance to find my lot in life. Underneath the ocean’s surface The quiet lets my thoughts swim near,And way down there, my mind becomes clear.Holding my breath…
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The panic bunny kicks my chest. Will it explode? I’m reminded again today That even I will die. Eyes transfixed on the cloud, walking by,silently, I beg her to tell me her secret. This life, How do I keep it? My foolish mind pleaded. Grappling with the universe. A puffy smile looks down at me,…
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Let the warmth soak in chilled bones. Arise after the sun, it already got the worm. Walking slowly the day drags on. Watch each minute tick across the clock. The light shines bright from high in the sky, These dog days we beg to prolong. All is well. Famine is not near. Winter is at…
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Dry and burnt Thirst for the river Just out of reach Lick cracked lips,Do you know you’re thirsty today? Stare at the pavement watching the waves juggle Your restless mind. What will you find today that hasn’t already been found tomorrow? Wandering through brown once green leaves, listening for the crumbles of dying things. Gasping…
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Anguish saturated my brow,Neurons fire in rapid succession,Unable to answer life’s greatest questions. How can they have behaved in such a deplorable way? A math problem without a solution,A maze without an exit.A loop I lived stuck in. Stabbing my stomach each time I repaired it. Stood in my way from a beautiful stage. The…
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Churning eats the bottom of my stomach. My feet drag across the carpet floor. Denial rots a top my teeth. Don’t check the phone,they still haven’t called. A disappointment I grow weary of feeling. Shaking it off, I exit the shower. Would I even answer if they rang?Wiping away the morning of mourning. Onward, with…
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Did they know I was drowning?He told me we weren’t actually related His words are leeches inside my brainSucking the belonging out of my head They were sharksI was a birdNot really their sisterJust barley their daughterHanging by thread Laced round my neck Trying to show themI could swim
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What makes the pain go away? When I lay my father down to rest, I won’t be concerned with the worst of his crimes. Yet, for years, his sins kept me awake each night. And still, his choices keep me away.Am I sad for all he’s done, or am I sad for all that I’ve…
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I do not chase a life Free from pain I pursue knowing it will be okayI chase the knowledge That no pain is too big For me to endureBecause I have grown the strength to withstand the raging storms.
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Splash here Splosh there I used to see my friends everyday this time of year. Wandering around Lost but thrilled. Older now, Wondering when the Thrill was lost. The days are hot Those friends are gone. New ones are here. When was the moment Everything changed?
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you promised you were holding the ropeTold you I want to fly off the cliff Hands printed on my back, almost like I was pushedMy brain, a smog, no one will know My jaw in pieces The concrete kissed me, helloNo rope in sight Daddy, you lied did you care that I died?
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Every dagger plunged through porcelain bones,Shattered my pieces, scattered on the floor. No blood to be found, Just remnants of a once hollow place.Shattered glass shaking, pulling jagged edges together again. Not even a tear could she shed. Sat pretty on Mama’s shelf Shattered in daddy’s shop. What would be left when she was all…
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My eyes squint, lips quiver. Don’t look at me.The flood gates open, Goop slides out my nose. The churning stops my breakfast from going down I rev my engine, I’m on the run Get away from me I cover my mouth,bile’s about to blow Brown locks whip wet pink cheeks,The ache of hearts incinerated sets…
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He told me we weren’t actually related His words are leeches inside my headSucking the belonging out of my head They were sharksI was a birdNot really his sisterJust barely their daughterHanging by thread Laced round my neck Trying to show themI could swim
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Sweat drips off my beak The dreams returned to me Holding him in my arms He’s elected for his last breath. He mutters he’s sorry And then he is gone. I carry him to his grave, a single daffodil, I lay His one human life is now done. No more sunrises, no more chances for…
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What happens after my last breath? I ask myself for the thousandth time. Hair prickles, Palms sweat. I chew the end off my thumb nail. Stomach churns, I don’t know. What will it feel like? The beat of thumping in my chest growing louder, A concert just for me. I close my eyes tight All…
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For months the blood drained out of the tiny holes Where feathers once rested. I was certain the bleeding would never stop. I could see no path forward. They had destroyed me, What was the use? One day I found a small vile, at first I felt it no use then after a while, I…
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Walked in circles colored with my blood. Dug a crimson rut. Clueless to the way the ground was lowering beneath me. Looking right,Looking left, Looking down, Looking up,All those birds, Flying above me. I wanted to be up there. At the time, I hadn’t noticed A door not far away, I’d been too busy begging…
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Taking flight never felt so hard.Looking down, my feathers were gone. I can see it now,The way they laughed at me Each time I’d jumped from caged windows trying to fly. Dad scooped me off the pavement again andshoved me back on stage,“Sing lizzybird, sing”I opened my beakAnd let out a scream.What a marvelous sound…
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Time spent hopping around, blood trickling out. Searching for feathers other may have dropped. If I found enough, I could jab them in my sides and make new wings of mine. Every fallen feather I found was just as blood as my own. I reached my resolve, and I’d have to figure out how to…
Healing Birds Fly Again 