9 stories

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9 stories

1. she cannot remember what happened

all she knows is,

little white lies are wildfire,

rip through a forest of mouths stretched open

become great white sharks that feast until

she is no longer glowing she is

burning, she is fragmenting,

result of a wound left untreated.

see how words weave into the space under her eyes,

branded on her forehead

the rumor personified

indistinguishable where the stories end and she begins

2. we say we are writers, poets, artists, dreamers

we say we write our dreams to keep the world from shattering but

there are still people screaming, people running

the blood is not beautiful, the scars do not sparkle

and we cannot rewrite that part

3. he only knows love in forms of neon stained parties and nameless, faceless friends

no, he does not know love at all

how can he? love is not supposed to hurt and all he does is hurt

smile more,

stop being so see-through

stop hurting

it is a cruel, confusing thing-

blade telling gash to heal

4. this is what sleeplessness looks like:

a million shattered souls scream secrets to the sky,

inch closer to the window and beg stars to split, spill silver to cleanse the hurt

sun parades through; golden glow murdering the gloom

light steals them back from the night

dragging them back to the start

they get up again

they always do

5. you open your newspaper

more broken love lines

more lives lost

more tragedy

more turmoil

lamentation drills deeper in your chest

it is too late for this:

you climb into bed

under chilly sheets, dreams of a ghost town

6. she picks the phone up

a million words bang against floodgates

threatening to wash her away

i am sorry for what i said, i am sorry for walking out, why did you let me leave? why didn't you call? i wanted you to call, i waited for you to call, i am sorry for waiting for you to call, i am sorry i am sorry i am sorry-

words are so heavy

she is fragile, she is paper stars and sand castles

she puts the phone down

7. loneliness stencilled on your mind

you paint over it

silk smile held by pins in your cheeks,

it is a matter of days until the act is up

and the matches left scattered

dissolve the world you crafted

smoldering walls,

heartstrings made dust

8. she picks the phone up (again)

it was all you had the capacity to say-

don't leave, don't leave, don't leave

i am sorry i didn't try to listen

and left anyway

9. there is one last story to memorize before the world awakens

it is not written in firestorm or broken love lines

it exists between scenes of disarray,

it is tired fingers unfurling to tow another away from black holes,

constellations drawn onto cicatrix

it is of healing, rebuilding

pointing arrows to new definitions of love, of happiness, of okay

it tells me that

this is not where it ends

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