Silky smooth,
Tender veins,
Numerous petals
Smell sweet.

Beautiful.
Admired.
A spectators gaze,
Floral physique.

Made for my
Enjoyment.
Just as pretty
As He views me.

The flowers -  
Alluring
Yet, I'm lovelier
Than peonies.

I never wished for my feathers
To catch fire
Unsure of who made me
This way

Losing my brilliance was never
My desire
My finale was
Excruciating

Someone once told me
That fire heals wounds
"To cauterize is to
Stop the bleeding"

This new discovery
Completely consumed.
Becoming anew
Was intriguing

The time then came
For the heat and the haze
These moments both petrifying  
And exhilarating

I touched the dark
Before I embarked
Forming from embers while I
Remembered

I am reborn

I'm tired of being sexualized,
Of waking up in a sweat.
Dreaming of his manipulation -
His authority in my bed

I want someone to search for my soul,
To flip through the files of my heart.
Not greedy fingers of yours,
But hands that cradle inner parts.

The rusty faucet created puddles
In the kitchen sink

I could hear it drip, drip, dripping
While his mattress squeaked

Failing to concentrate on his eyes -
Were they blue or green?

Hair disheveled and rosy cheeks,
While I was underneath

His chapped lips - agape
Whispering obscenities

Sweat on his brow
Drip, drip, dripping on me

The rusty faucet created puddles
In the kitchen sink

Salty eyes formed oceans
On his gray sheets

March feels wintry
On the first day of spring
I am an abductee.

Hades' hunger for sexuality
His underworld queen
Pomegranate seeds

When spring isn't spring
And the grass isn't green
I am Persephone

From Chicago to Lake Geneva,
I knew it to be true:
I loved you.

It was our spring break
But we weren't at the shore
We were outside your front door.

From your mother's disapproval
To your father's dismay,
I had faith in our mainstay.

It was the scent of your pillowcase
And the warmth of your hands
That solidified my plans

During your parent's time away
The sun chose to break through;
Small specks of dust in your room

It was the curve of your lips
And the promises you made
That gave me away

I was suppressing a confession -
A secret of my own...
Whispered onto your jawbone

My thoughts on the train
Were fully admitted
I, committed

From Lake Geneva to Minneapolis,
I knew it to be true:
I loved you.

I'm not all that different
From doctors and surgeons

I search for sharp eggshells
In brownie batter

It's a grueling task
Yet, one I can't miss

Without my extraction
My dessert is displeasing

My grandfather's surgeons
Are similar to me

They search for the blockage -
A distasteful one at that

Hands search
And scavenge

They use medical instruments
I have utensils of my own

Both certain that sharp eggshells
Harm the entirety

There are times I
Come up short

The pesky shards
Are difficult to find

And I am afraid
Of the doctor's similarity to me

I pray they find the eggshells
Inside my grandfather's arteries