Once upon a time, I read this. Then I wrote this:
They say there is a she-creature living in the lake by my house. My friends and I decided, as so many groups of friends have before, to hunt her. To find her. To prove her existence. The creature is aware of this. But we are the first to look for her in decades, and she knows this too.
It’s cruel to have wanted
to fix you, save you
as if you’re some wandering, broken thing
and not just simply human
All I wanted was you happy
safe, sane, okay—
and yes, once, perhaps,
to be mine again—
but that was then
This is now
Most of these wishes
are still held close to my heart
but I wonder if they’re not unrealistic
Though who cares if they are?
I ask for now is truth,
clarity,
though I doubt I’ll get those either
All the things you’re trying to say
in your distant, run-around away?
I just
do not
understand
You do not disappoint
I do not expect perfection
All I need is the honest reason,
or else the cessation of all this
unnecessary silence
To see such words given freely to others
when I’d gift you my own arm
in a neatly-wrapped box
to hear them from you to me
This cuts like the sharpest blade;
shallow, but often
I’m beginning to think of you
as some kind of personal angel,
hovering over, watching every move I make,
whispering encouragement into the wind
Does that make me selfish?
Am I imagining more interest than there is,
and perhaps only because I can’t stand the thought
of being banished from your mind?
Because you, lovely, shining creature,
I have always held in the highest regard—
yes, higher even than my own beloved—
but I wonder if you think that unfair
Maybe it’s wrong to picture you enveloped
in flowing gowns and soft silver wings…
Regardless, I know it hurts
Given the chance, I’d gladly clip those wings,
urge you back down to touch the earth,
for though you’re as beautiful,
as secretive as all the angels,
you’re silent and unseen as them too
Does that halo mute your voice?
Or is this quiet my fault
for telling one so demure and reserved
that any words slipping through
would be met only with interest and rapt attention?
I have so many questions, love,
but the only answer I truly need
is a smile, a kind word,
and your warm, holy presence
through these harsh and lonely nights
Words: 5,979
What if Alice had stayed behind in Wonderland?
“Good evening, March.”
He suppressed the impulse to turn toward the sound of her voice, telling himself there was no point. Taking another sip from the large brandy in his hand, he pictured it in his head, remembering the countless times they had been in this exact situation. She would be there, almost silhouetted by the harsh hall lights behind her, the glow from his fireplace barely reaching her thin frame, refusing to illuminate her delicate features. Dirty hands would be pulling on the hem of that blue dress—the one she still insisted on wearing, despite the fact that she outgrew it years ago—or perhaps rubbing against the stained and graying apron in a futile attempt to appear clean. It would be a miracle if she had bothered to tame the blonde tangle she called hair.
I saw a woman in the waves
when I’d just turned thirteen
Her voice was high, clear, and alive,
but she sang only of the sea
I called out as she floated by;
she smiled brightly up at me,
but never stopped or even paused
the song she rang out for the sea
As time went on, I met her kin—
ten or more, there seemed to be
Like her, they each did little else
than vocalize about the sea
It was years til I stepped out
into waters so warm and green
Their arms were opened wide to welcome
and envelop me into the sea
Now years later still, but I’ve remained
happy, light, lost, calm, and free—
though cold and pale and very still—
as I drift alone through the sea
I take another drag
and hope this evil consumes me
Every word you spew
is another small dose of poison
injected straight into my soul
I could be vomiting shards of my heart for hours
until a lack of love
seals my eyes closed
and suppresses every ragged breath
drawn into tar-stained lungs
But why all this?
Until a winged seraph
sees fit to float down
into my fenced-off corner of the world
on wings of the purest white
I will not find the peace of mind
required to judge as you must be judged
and truly revoke the love
I once thought you deserved
