trauma
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Trickles of rage Pool in my palms. The acid threatens to shoot out my eyes again. The unmistakable sound of a man’s upper handed shake. Daring my knees to buckle,begging my will to break. Invisible scars line my cheeks from the men before him. The ones that sharpened my tongue before I had the chance…
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My first few flights since the time I fled,I wasn’t quite sure why it hurt inside.I was supposed to feel freeI was supposed to feel alive. Weak kneed and wobbly eyed It became clear to me. I’d spent my whole life trying not to drown in that cage,I’d never learned how to spread my wings…
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What if the sun led us astray? She hurtles through space, carrying us on her back. Does she know how we depend on her each moment of forever. When she sends out the flares that swamp our magnetic fields, is it to say she knows we’ve set ourselves ablaze? All she has brought to life,…
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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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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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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 