There once was a prince,
as kind as can be.
Whenever he would write,
he’d sit beneath the large willow tree.

On one rainy day,
he walked to the willow
and rested his head
on the moss, like a pillow.

The tree kept him dry
but the breeze made him shiver.
The puddles turned to ponds
and his lip began to quiver.

The water rose as it rained
so he climbed up the tree.
Hoping the pond would dry
and he’d finally be free.

He then heard a voice
that rose from below,
A mermaid called up to him,
telling him to let go.

He still clutched the branch
but he asked of her plan.
She said that she could help him
swim to dry land.

So the prince dove into the pond,
quickly beginning to drown;
he flailed and kicked
as the mermaid swam down.

She grabbed on his arm
and pulled him up to get air.
Then she dove right back down
and swam who-knows-where.

The whole way he was gasping
and clinging to her hand.
When she finally stopped swimming
they were right next to land.

He thanked his sweet savior
asking if they’d meet again.
She looked at him sadly and said,
“I’d love to, but when?”

“My sweet little prince,”
The mermaid did say,
“if you grew a tail,
we’d be together everyday!”

“But my dear angle of the sea,”
the confused prince did reply,
“How would I do that?
I wouldn’t know how to try.”

Then the girl of the water
began to explain
a flower that bloomed
in a wide open plain.

It shines in the day
and glows in the night.
It can make men live in water,
all it takes is one bite.

And so the young prince
went on a journey to the field
where this magical flower
is said to be concealed.

After three days of travel
he is finally there.
But no flower he found
could even compare.

That night, he could not sleep,
instead he wandered the plateau.
When, at that moment,
A flower began to glow.

He pulled it from the ground,
running back to the mermaid
Another three days later,
he found her body half-decayed.

“I waited for you, my prince,”
the note by her bones read,
“I’ll wait for you here, love,
until I am dead.”

While he had traveled,
the water had dried
and under his willow,
his savior had died.

Was I not beautiful enough
Or you don't find me attractive anymore.
Was I there to humor you
To laugh and make merry.
Or anything for that matter to you.
You called me your sweetest memory;
How we would walk hand-in-hand
Your fingers in mine.
And just a touch, like a wand
Sent shivers down my spine.

When I stared at you
With all the love
Your eyes talked to me.
Your gaze ever-convincing.
And then came those big promises
Which made me trust you
And you alone of all people.
You liar!
You lied so beautifully and conveniently.
Always knowing that I would be back
When you shed a tear.
Even while I am trying to control mine.

Are you crazy, crazy are ya?
You kept on repeating.
The same self who once said
We were like-minded.
And crazily enough
You pushed a dagger
Into my throbbing heart
Which is still bleeding.

Waiting
For only the brightest of days
His return to dry her cheek
In this surreality did they meet

The whisper of a tear went dry, no eyelid shudder
He thought if anyone else knew this love he might die
One breath caught and then another
Reality rubbed at his shoulder
Temptation was unbelievably believable

Star-crossed you could call it
A fateful phrase not oft spoken
Youths lie, cheat, and steal for this token
Destined for love with bounds unbroken

She falls and is caught in his arms
His decision, Never do her harm
If only her could do better
Her body, light as a feather
He knew
She knows

The whisper of a tear gone dry, no eyelid shudder
He thought if anyone else knew this love he might die
One breath caught and then another
Reality brushed at his shoulder
Temptation was unbelievably believable

So choose and lose yourself wisely
Her eyes gave him no semblance of choice
Ever deeper assured their answer
Causing neither price nor sacrifice
Because their secret was worth keeping
Locked behind the eyes of the girl

The whisper of a tear gone dry, no eyelid shudder
He thought if anyone else knew this love he might die
One breath caught and the another
Reality pulled at his shoulder
Temptation was unbelievably believable

So unbelievably believable

I cried for you
a flash of silver
between my teeth
lips, scarlet and drip-
ing

at seventeen I knew
the weight of you,
each hair on your arms
as you pressed my back
into the stained carpet

the Japanese tattoo
that, tracing the thick
black lines with my eyes

a quick glimpse of my
grandfather, mixing bread
with milk and whiskey

flowers that grew, evergreen
in the garden where
he'd chase me

laughter ringing through the air
cheesecloth blue dresses
and black, buckled shoes

you eat me, heart first
then each sense in turn.
I welcome the loss of
them all.

The touch of your
nails in my thighs. The
taste of blood as your
rotted mouth envelopes
my own. The sound
of flesh beating flesh.
The sight of sweat beads
resting on your brow. The
smell of ***** seeping
through skin.

In a moment
I am no longer
a girl

but a woman eating
the words off my clothes, smarting, sinister ****

a ***** kitchen floor
is waiting. The cool relief
of the tiles on my
burning skin

a woman,
no longer whole
yet still
alive

A dream, time unspecified-
desires descend to my thought,
standing on the side lines,
avoiding the cacophony of the crowd,
excited about her finesse,
I watch her waltz,
                                 oh! those gliding steps!
On the pool of light, round and round
she circles like an angel possessed,
"Today she sets foot on the next step,
to the future.Years sit on her shoulders
gentle.See her beaming, an oil lamp!"

Tomorrow is waiting outside  this hall,
with bated breath, I am aware,
The cheering crowd's cynosure she is,
their eyes, butterflies, flutter around her,
then my eyes catch this, none else did, I am sure,
a drop of sweat, doused in her fragrance,
a diamond, finely chiselled it looked to me,
glitters on her chin, such a lovely sight,

Her partner in waltz just doesn't notice.
And I thought,"My God! she is gorgeous"
And it falls, the diamond, though so far,
I extend my hand and grab it, what a magic-
I share with her?

i know i’m not supposed to admit that i’m nervous
but those nerves
they’re eating and burning
but i’m gonna harness
those nerves and spread
that energy into wings and
i’m gonna tell you this
but it’s so rarely true.
those wings are in my stomach and they’re beating out
a song sticking in my head until i can’t hear
anything else.
like creatures
hunched into the shelves of my ribs
they fly
and carry me higher with them.
i’m fine.
just a little airborne.
never yet on drugs,
though plants are my dear friends, since i might be one
too a wallflower a girl said they are
boring
dull
full of fault for playing their own portrayal
and here i stared, my mind staging its own betrayal
because i do have petals. petals in the shape of wings
and those wings deep inside of me
beating
gently and softly into a storm.
i’ve only sat in the bathroom stalls once or twice,
just to relearn how to breathe.
i’ve almost risen more,
this week my mom asked if i’ve been feeling anxious lately
and finally
i could say no.
i’ve never cut lines to let the butterflies out.
but i’ve written them down.

I have a soul that bleeds on the open floor.
I feel the sadness in a night full of laughter, art, the city
The city
Where I've fallen for the confidence that comes with anonymity.
Sometimes the desire crops up to just go out alone,
or to look at a bright light
and think about you, and how right you feel.
There was a time when my life was a trap
There still are times when I feel that friendship is an illusion
When I feel so isolated that I want to ride a train to the end of its line, but then what
And I think about the first time you let me into your heart
on the steps of a Harvard registrar's office
so far in the dead of night that only ghosts of empty shuttles could be heard.
Sometimes I'm not quite sure if I've had a friend
Sometimes I feel like worshipping love
And sometimes when we're together
and you hold me
and I hold you
and we sleep,
the gentlest stroke of your thumb on my arm is enough to tell me what love is,
For I've found it standing earnestly before me,
eyes peeled,
soul open in the spiral steam of her breath that rises in the December air.
Girl, look at this for what it is
Everything it is, and tell me if it's too soon
to say I love you.

'Look up, Pretty lady,
Your gown’s stained, so has your future
For you have cut yourself deep
With values and customs you couldn’t nurture’
Mocked the satirical society hard
Upon every girl that grew up strong
Willed to prove them all wrong
For many a lives laid back
Many a tears seeped through the skin
Until no more did they flow
‘We decide the course of wind
Enough to sail your raft of life
For storms come the path
Of those who drift apart'