Devil’s Daughter
They call him the Son of God,my twin, with light in his eyes,hair falling in luscious golden locksaround his beaming, majestic face;his skin exudes sunlightand his lips let out tendrils of warmth;a white hot kiss in the midst of winter’s wrath. But I, on the other handOh I, oh I, oh i… They call me […]
Beloved Grandmother
A mother’s name drifts away the windslipping through my fingers in the breeze,impossible to catch and hold oneven as I grasp onto the strings.I cry out, oh it’s so loud,the wailing around me and in my head.a brother can’t catch his breath,I tell him, take one in, and then release.But I can’t seem to catch […]
Choosing Himself
He’s a man who will always choose himself;in sickness and in health. I’ve given my all to keep him pleased,but now I turn around and say, “What about me?” An entanglement has its needsand cannot survive with personal greed. Loneliness leaves you standing in the rain; waiting for a man who will never change.
Choosing Myself
He said, “I don’t get the way you tick; I don’t get how you click; with all the different people around, even they look up at you profound.” I laughed. “It isn’t hard to understand—all my life I wished I’d been a man. I’m not saying you didn’t have it hard, but not the same […]
Stages of an Intrusive Thought
I’m caught in an endless loophole—trapped in a moment in time that plays over and over again.Oh, don’t worry, I made it out of it today. Now I await the next episode to come, whether that’s in two weeks, months, or even a year. It always comes because that’s what intrusive thoughts do. They come […]
To Be a Woman
I grew up doused in shame, its flames consuming the entirety of me as I stared in the mirror, looking at my own body. I looked at the parts of me that looked different than my younger brothers and felt the seething humiliation run its course through me. I could never figure out what was […]
the court of judgement
A voice within me has started to chant,Preservere, preservere, preservere…LIVE. I don’t want to be shamed for this or for that;in a life that’s been lived, something will always look badin the eyes of a holy court that decides who belongs,but just because my story is different doesn’t mean it’s wrong.I lived and I learned; […]
Yesterday’s Trauma = Today’s Suffering
I forgot how to let my walls down. I don’t remember what it was like to just say what I felt. Have I ever known that at all? My whole life, I kept the darkness at bay, sealed in an airtight jar and hidden in a coded safe. I’ve always held myself to a standard […]
I Live
I used to think that when my skin wrinkled and my hair turned thin and grey, I would find peace within. “I’ll be older then,” I said. “I’ll know the way of the world, and I’ll be at peace.” That was when I was young. I’m still young now—not even a quarter through life. But […]
Finding Peace
You’re never going to break my soul nor the fire that burns in my heart, maybe a scar on my body left by stained glass shards. You won’t take my beating breath away, not after the times it has come close, if you don’t love me, someone else will, and if no one does, I […]