You can’t leave a dog outside for too long
she’ll pace the yard
the dog will think about its mother — a thought we never imagine it to wonder back to
a dog will wander
she’ll wonder...
Age 10:
Go change your clothes.
Those shorts are too short.
Age 12:
Go find something else to wear.
That dress is too revealing.
Age 14:
You shouldn’t dress like that.
There will be...
When I turned eight, I wore a dress and a crown,
It was a sign to all that I had grown,
It reminds me of my grad cap and gown,
A sign that I’ve made plans to go on my own,
From eight to eighteen,...
Maybe all the dirty imperfect stained parts of the space that is my room is a sign
that i’ve lived
opposed to filth and shame
and maybe it does represent this inner landscape i live in every day
there...
Four years
we grew up in the space between
“good morning” texts
and “stay on the phone a little longer.”
different schools pulled us apart
in quiet ways at first, new halls, new faces,
stories...
I used to believe that soulmates
were only romantic.
That they came with sparks
and slow dances
and hands intertwined under dim lights.
Then I met my best friend.
Her wild spirit.
Her reckless...
If overthinking were a sport,
I would have a jersey.
My number would be 24
because that is how many hours a day
my brain refuses to clock out.
Opening ceremony
is me opening a text
that says
”k.”
The...
The wind chimes at my Nonni’s house jingled,
The soft clinks echoed through the spring air.
I recall the chuckles of my Nonni.
She laughed with me in her homey backyard.
Freezing hose water...
“I pledge allegiance to the flag.”
Pledge?
Pledge to a saying that was scorched into people as toddlers?
That’s the way it goes I suppose.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag.”
Allegiance?
Allegiance...
You didn’t know it would be the last time your mom would brush your hair before school and you complained about the tangles.
You didn’t know it would be the last time that you’d complain about...
You're locked in, not talking to anyone.
In your own world.
Nothing is stopping you, no phone notifications, no distractions, just you, your keyboard, and your brain.
You’re all happy.
You ask...
