Category: poetry

flashlights and prescriptions

to the girl who thinks she looks stupid in rainbows, dusting her with a warm shimmer of hope like stardust in a madman’s grip-

to the girl who wears glasses with frames tied in knots by her stressful piano fingers-

to the girl with shock-red hair and an attitude just cocky enough to keep her opposition across the room-

to the girl who self-medicates, waking herself with vegan breakfasts and numbing her emotions with aggravated music-

to the girl who fends off desperation with a prescription bottle, holding it in front of herself like a flashlight pointing out the path to freedom-

to the girl who counts upwards with inked numbers all over her wrists-

to the girl who incessantly wonders why all the other girls are scared of her-

you simply need to learn to love yourself.

–

written w25may2011.

–

words don’t need beats

my well-worn pen
glides across
second-rate stationery
smoother than a
[well-rosined]
bow on a violin string

fingers maneuver it
easier than they maneuver themselves
across [ebony , ivory] piano keys

i’m happy
bouncing without a beat

my fingers
tremble [throw]
rainbows
across your
blackandwhite scales

i’m a spazz

i can’t keep
still
to
three-four and bee flat major

everything is
always
music

words don’t
always
need music

words need people

[i need people]

–

written f20may2011.

i consider this to be the first good poem i ever wrote.

–

justin

i.
there are no words for this.
there is no miracle combination of syllables
that will make you better
that will make you strong enough
to handle this.

ii.
never have my own issues
felt so belittled
a mere chemical imbalance
is nothing compared
to the hole ripped out of your universe

iii.
the way i dress now
is not a cry of defiance
but a symbol of mourning
these tears
are not me showing weakness
this is me paying my respects.

iv.
how can i think of myself now?
i do not deserve
to eat, to sleep, to smile
while you are suffering
so badly

v.
we can dedicate our lives to him
and it still won’t change the fact
that he’s gone.

–

written w11may2011.

in memoriam

–

wordless

she turns
sunlight glints over lenses over mocha eyes
chocolate hair
cut in a bob, sophisticated and daring
compared to her once-rapunzel-locks

she wears her favorite boots
and a smile
open as a dictionary and yet
i still can’t read her

she must have
a heart of steel
to put up with what i’ve dealt her
she is the page of cups
and i’m the nagging wild card
sneaking shuriken around every page turn

and yet she smiles through
the blood on her nimble calloused fingertips
counting one, two, three, four
while i sit in silence
streaked mascara and pulling hair
wondering which combination of words
will get me out of this one

she is the goddess of tolerance
and she deserves more
from me

–

written m25apr2011.

a birthday gift for a friend.

–