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#generational
When we were young, my brother broke a bone on the playground My family made fun of me because I cried and he didn’t What they never understood about me was That I loved everyone else more than I loved myself That to watch anyone I loved suffer, was agony That I would not hesitate to throw my body in front of someone else’s That was how I became a punching bag for the next decade
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May 15
May 15, 2026 at 10:08 AM UTC
Punching Bag
Scratchy cardigans And ruffled socks Saucers of tea Gone cold Christmas dinner She can't make Anymore head of the PTA I see pictures of Her Cat eye glasses And half smile Doesn't reach the Eyes She never got to say No Always the oldest daughter Always the mother Her brothers both Died And her sister pierced Her Own ears And her daughters Aren't catholic Anymore She never got To fight To be more Than Who we Thought
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May 5
May 5, 2026 at 7:02 PM UTC
Nana
Every morning my father takes seven different vitamins with the concentration of a man repairing history manually Omega-3 magnesium vitamin D quiet disappointment He believes survival is mostly chemical Honestly after the twentieth century that seems reasonable At breakfast he reads headlines with increasing suspicion like someone checking weather reports for signs of invasion The kettle whistles A neighbor starts drilling into the wall at exactly 8:13 a.m. the building continues through pipes through routines through mineral supplements My father swallows another capsule with the exhausted dignity of a country refusing to collapse publicly
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May 2
May 2, 2026 at 12:55 PM UTC
Vitamins
My father believes all problems can be solved by either: soup silence replacing the batteries To be fair this covers more situations than psychology does
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May 2
May 2, 2026 at 10:39 AM UTC
Soup, Silence, Batteries
Patti started with poetry — Writing prose that burned, And because the night spoke She then turned that prose into sing-song that enlivened generation after generation, Compelling us to live now, not long, Love now; Run with horses, Run our course, without the gong, And be. Just because… Why not.
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Apr 15
Apr 15, 2026 at 8:51 PM UTC
Because of Patti
Is anything different since the times of our grandparents— since the time of our ancestors? Or is it all the same? Yes, we have technology. But where we have the Internet, they had books or before, priests and wise men. Yes, we have video games. But where we play with a console, they played with cards or before, with their hands and feet. Yes, we have newspapers. But where we read The Times they had criers or before, gossips. Maybe our "progress" is just creating fancy, new formats for things that already existed. New tools and equipment to make things easier, yet more complex.
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Feb 22
Feb 22, 2026 at 12:59 PM UTC
Has the world changed?
When I was created- In the image of my father, Since he, too, was fated, The image of his father. When he left me behind, And I was forced to act as such. Was Satan too left blind, To his holy father’s touch? And as my own son grows, Starving at love's empty altars. His time runs thin, he knows, His father’s love soon falters. He'll leave his own domain, As I, too, have abandoned mine, And must I be to blame? A familial curse in twine. How a son’s tears might have dried, Had his father's arms been open wide.
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Feb 8
Feb 8, 2026 at 3:14 PM UTC
My Fathers Image
Green slippery polyester The rain slips down shushing shivery silence Five fifth graders in cat shaped sleeping bags We whispered our faults into the sleepy air Said i’m so fat, but we didnt know why The books that we read had slipped into our head So we all huddled up and lamented our hips God oh my god I am just so thick Our mothers have taught us our value is in size They inadvertently whispered us poisonous lies We are not made for men But movies taught us we are just our bra size Now we are older and taller and mad We resent yet we worship the culture that mad 5 year old me sad Though our shorts have got shorter our confidence shrank While outwardly we are bolder Inside of our minds beauty standards smolder Where do we learn to hate our thighs Who taught us to hide food and get skinny through lies We were only 10 but we started to cry When we huddled around said a forbidden secret Said we were pretty But we didn’t mean it Somewhere else in a tent in the rain Shushing and shivering a soft breath on the nylon again Another young girl sings the same old refrain God oh god we should all look the same We looked in the mirror and mean girls’d ourselves Cause we have to be perfect like barbie on the shelf When all a 5th grader wants is to be Herself
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Feb 4
Feb 4, 2026 at 8:49 PM UTC
When We Were Only Ten
I will be her biggest failure, The one that went all wrong. The first pancake of the batch– Always burnt and quite oblong. The one who saw the chaos And fought it like her own war. The one that was once rescued, The guiltiest feeling she ever bore. The one that saw the damage Of an ego wounded man. Who grew to find a new one, Mama couldn't fix hers– But I can. I will always be her failure– Look just like her and more. Instead of choosing different, I simply busted through Her old barred doors.
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Jan 23
Jan 23, 2026 at 5:54 PM UTC
Inheritance
She thought she wrote from sorrow– From deep blue hopeless seas. She really writes from anger, Wheels turning faster as she seethes. What's the point in speaking up, When your plane just gets shot down? Tired of rebuilding from the rubble, She learned to vent without a sound. They think she was born to run, They couldn't be more wrong. She was born to stay– and build, But not to that cursed **** song. Her father played that tune for years, It reverberates in her bones. So she never picked up a guitar– Nor made anger her bands promo.
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Jan 21
Jan 21, 2026 at 11:04 AM UTC
Notes on Anger
Car Horn, what it used to mean: Hey buddy pay attention, you almost hit me. Car Horn, what it means today: Welcome, to the accident.....
0
Jan 10
Jan 10, 2026 at 8:51 AM UTC
Generation Gap
If I have no choice                  but to rub off on you Then maybe if we tried                  the good parts might too I suppose it all depends                  on the parts we both choose
0
Dec 11, 2025
Dec 11, 2025 at 12:53 PM UTC
Better than we think
Winter begins to nip at the leaves of trees. The air has grown sharper, and the days are shortened. Summer was prosperous—endless days of work permitted the fields of golden crops that now lay ready for harvest. The farmer gazes upon his work, though from afar, so he could not tell you how they truly are—only how they are everything he could ever desire, if only he could reach them. His happiness could not extend any higher. He could live his life in peace then—and only then. Yet there stands a wall, towering tall, leaving him confined to merely peeking through a hole he's found within his enclosure—he is bound to fall. Running low from past years’ harvest, the man begins to regret the time he spent building up the bricks. He wasn't aware of the things he was doing or the consequences that would follow, but alas, he's found himself here. Stuck— stuck with no idea for escape, with the exception of perception. He’s able to find cracks to look beyond his wall—it is flawed. Some bricks are older, withered, and cracked. They tell stories, each with their own scars told from generations long and far. Yet they still stand reminiscing on the former glory of brighter days, caught in a broken, dreamy haze. While others are newer, brighter, and neatly stacked. They hold a broken promise despite a smooth surface; submerged within their purpose is fear. They find comfort in stagnation with the place they've been thrown—after all, it’s what they've always known. The more he gazes through his wall, the more he wishes he hadn't built it so tall. He only wanted to protect himself from the danger that could come from beyond, but the only danger he was in was a light burn from the summer’s son. The crops beyond are beautiful and bright, although not for long. Don’t forget—winter is yet to be strung along. As seasons shed skin, the farmer’s spirit wears thin; the frost is coming, and so is snow. But deep inside, the farmer knows—he must grow. As he watches the plants through the seasons, they change. They break free from their shells to feel the warmth they yearned for underground. —deep within, They transform; they root themselves with truth to purify the lies that fly airborne. And if not to grow, then to dwell inside a cage, never admitting the mistakes they've made. Trapped in the shell of a past self, they hold regret for the path not chosen. and die without knowing themself. If only the farmer could break free of the chains that his fearsome heart resides in, to free himself of lies that keep him hypnotized, he would no longer live his life in aversion. He would see, There resides a soul of warmth and light; it tells the tale of life free of fear—in the place far outside of here. These walls no longer protect they only project the fractured inner lining of a man who spends his days whining, wishing to be free, despite overlooking that it is him who's holding the key—the key to freedom for the place he dreams to be; but corruption of thought keeps him caught in a rut. And soon, the tie to life will be cut. They’ll wither away, and here the farmer will stay, trapped in his dismay. He needs to break away from his chains and find trust within to see. It is his mind in need of change. —Yet a fool he will stay, because he cannot walk away. To rupture the wall is a task too tall. It has kept his heart hidden as generations before. It's kept the pain away but still left his soul sore. After so long, this false protection is in need of demolition. If not down with the wall, then to untouched harvest death will call, and to waste it will go—covered by ice and covered by snow. It’s such a shame to let go. If unable to change fate, the wall prevails; then when time comes to see the hail, the farmer's skin will turn pale. Now opposed to the wall, this frittered farmer will fall. He will set the final brick piece. Then maybe his soul will find the peace he could not seem to reach.
0
Nov 23, 2025
Nov 23, 2025 at 5:29 PM UTC
The Tall Towering Wall
Winter begins to nip at the leaves of trees. The air has grown sharper, and the days are shortened. Summer was prosperous—endless days of work permitted the fields of golden crops that now lay ready for harvest. The farmer gazes upon his work, though from afar, so he could not tell you how they truly are—only how they are everything he could ever desire, if only he could reach them. His happiness could not extend any higher. He could live his life in peace then—and only then. Yet there stands a wall, towering tall, leaving him confined to merely peeking through a hole he's found within his enclosure—he is bound to fall. Running low from past years’ harvest, the man begins to regret the time he spent building up the bricks. He wasn't aware of the things he was doing or the consequences that would follow, but alas, he's found himself here. Stuck— stuck with no idea for escape, with the exception of perception. He’s able to find cracks to look beyond his wall—it is flawed. Some bricks are older, withered, and cracked. They tell stories, each with their own scars told from generations long and far. Yet they still stand reminiscing on the former glory of brighter days, caught in a broken, dreamy haze. While others are newer, brighter, and neatly stacked. They hold a broken promise despite a smooth surface; submerged within their purpose is fear. They find comfort in stagnation with the place they've been thrown—after all, it’s what they've always known. The more he gazes through his wall, the more he wishes he hadn't built it so tall. He only wanted to protect himself from the danger that could come from beyond, but the only danger he was in was a light burn from the summer’s son. The crops beyond are beautiful and bright, although not for long. Don’t forget—winter is yet to be strung along. As seasons shed skin, the farmer’s spirit wears thin; the frost is coming, and so is snow. But deep inside, the farmer knows—he must grow. As he watches the plants through the seasons, they change. They break free from their shells to feel the warmth they yearned for underground. —deep within, They transform; they root themselves with truth to purify the lies that fly airborne. And if not to grow, then to dwell inside a cage, never admitting the mistakes they've made. Trapped in the shell of a past self, they hold regret for the path not chosen. and die without knowing themself. If only the farmer could break free of the chains that his fearsome heart resides in, to free himself of lies that keep him hypnotized, he would no longer live his life in aversion. He would see, There resides a soul of warmth and light; it tells the tale of life free of fear—in the place far outside of here. These walls no longer protect they only project the fractured inner lining of a man who spends his days whining, wishing to be free, despite overlooking that it is him who's holding the key—the key to freedom for the place he dreams to be; but corruption of thought keeps him caught in a rut. And soon, the tie to life will be cut. They’ll wither away, and here the farmer will stay, trapped in his dismay. He needs to break away from his chains and find trust within to see. It is his mind in need of change. —Yet a fool he will stay, because he cannot walk away. To rupture the wall is a task too tall. It has kept his heart hidden as generations before. It's kept the pain away but still left his soul sore. After so long, this false protection is in need of demolition. If not down with the wall, then to untouched harvest death will call, and to waste it will go—covered by ice and covered by snow. It’s such a shame to let go. If unable to change fate, the wall prevails; then when time comes to see the hail, the farmer's skin will turn pale. Now opposed to the wall, this frittered farmer will fall. He will set the final brick piece. Then maybe his soul will find the peace he could not seem to reach.
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Spiders everywhere Drowning in terror Safety was never my birthright Monkey mind corned into a frenzy No space for my human to live in peace Autonomy revoked Voice muzzled There's no more, me can't wash away this dirtiness Can't wait to numb my heart again Aren't these thoughts mine? Why do they hate me so? Borrowed. This is why we go to church. To bleach out this brain stain My DNA whispers demons Collected through this body's amalgamation They hide in the darkest nooks of the corridor of time Waiting to encroach one more time Oh, pure innocence. I lament.
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Sep 27, 2025
Sep 27, 2025 at 10:58 AM UTC
Brainstain
I can't speak the truth that feeds on my wounds I can't say because I survive on his provision My voice doesn't matter, who will value me I weep inwards, salting this bitterness I go crazy because I can never be truly free I loop in his betrayal To my heart my mind my soul ... my body I was evicted out of the only safe harbour I had Grandma said no grandpa! Our bodies and voices are being harvested by our own! They are yours, for your pleasure only At our expense you've found your glory Inherited this suffering because you did anyway To survive, we gaslight ourselves I can't bare to continue to live with this truth So I breathe from lies I put on my glasses to bypass this irk My kids need me My kids need to survive this monster Let me be brave Let me be brave just enough to live on these lies Because their lives depend on it!
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Sep 25, 2025
Sep 25, 2025 at 4:17 PM UTC
The body that inherited trauma
I was born into a famine that had nothing to do with bread. Love was rationed in screams or absence, served in scraps too small to even fill a sparrow. It folded children into masks, teaching them to barter their bodies, their brilliance, for one spoonful of being seen. Starvation is generational — My grandparents wore silence like a second skin, their hunger pressed into my parents’ palms who learned to mistake approval for affection, discipline for devotion. By the time it reached us, the scarcity became lineage: my sister and I daughters of starvation, gnaw on shadows, calling it comfort, rehearsing the same ache — our bodies learning to beg in disguises. Late twenties, and the fridge hums louder than I do bones hum with the ache of it, eyes swollen from begging the air to answer back. I peel the silence open with my teeth. There’s nothing inside. I am tired of carrying an empty bowl across centuries. I will not pass down a hollow mouth. May my hands unlearn famine. Love will be abundant in the soil I leave behind. - V
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Sep 12, 2025
Sep 12, 2025 at 5:01 AM UTC
Starvation is generational
The baby sea turtle gets abandoned Abandoned by its parents The baby sea turtle needs their mother 1 in 10,000 Oh, 1 in 10,000 live to adulthood That 1 in 10,000 Moves on to abandon their children Ironic, isn’t it? How parents can forget the struggle Faced in their very own childhood How the children grow up to be Just like the horrors they swore to avoid Yes, I feel bad for the baby sea turtles But it’s their culture— Their lives and the expectations But to feel for the turtles is to feel for you Your parents didn’t abandon you Oh no, sweetie, worse— Your parents isolated you Mistreated you And to feel for the turtles is to feel for you Feel for the life you didn’t choose It’s not the culture That causes the forced isolation It’s the cold hearts and the failed system Oh, who is the sea turtle? I’m not sure But to feel for the turtles is to feel for you Even when there is nothing to do
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Aug 3, 2025
Aug 3, 2025 at 8:30 PM UTC
To feel for the turtle
LIKE A COMMON POPPY, WOMEN IN MY LINEAGE ARE MEADOWS, SELF-SEEDING THERE OWN MEADOW AROUND THEM, ONLY NEEDING RAIN LONG LINE OF ABUSE, BETRAYAL, ABANDONMENT, FROM MOTHER TO FATHER, MEN TO WOMEN PARENTS ABANDONING, CHASING YOU DOWN, YOUR MOTHERS FLEETING, SHE IGNORES YOU SIPPIN ON WINE BOTTLES, GIRLS WHO WANTED A FAMILY WHO LOVED, APPRECIATED THEM AND WHO WOULD PICK THEM FROM THE GARDEN.
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Jul 8, 2025
Jul 8, 2025 at 5:36 PM UTC
WIILDFLOWER
Her bad mood Tries to intrude On conversation, On laughter Her lack of power Compels her to cower Behind a false sense Of tyrannical control Her own home and head Never gave sanctuary; instead They fostered hostility And made her feel blind Blind when searching for Places with an open door With a place to lie down And to quiet all sound She’s fighting herself inside Can’t say she never tried When the battle leaves her mind And infects the entire family line My bad mood Tends to intrude On conversation, On laughter And I’m sorry But I learned it from you
0
Jun 5, 2025
Jun 5, 2025 at 10:02 AM UTC
Passed down
You want to be a family, I admire that- I really do I think too much has happened, in the past, between me and you. See I learned what soft love feels like, That I don't think you can give I don't look at you with stars in my eyes, Why couldn't you change when I did? Once you were my universe, and like women before me I held you down But I don't want my daughter to be generationally cursed to be a man's clown. They say we're from a line of strong women, and yes I do believe that's true, but I don't want to be strong for sticking it out, I want the strength to forever leave you. Maybe this is the fork in the road, where my mother chose to stick it out, I can't raise a daughter on fake love of that I have no doubt. Really it's up to me, I can't blame great grandma for this gift, I always thought narcissists move on to a new supply but this man tirelessly tightens his grip. I can't ask the moon for answers, no- this has to come deep from within, will I have the courage to keep the **** away? Or will I keep our matronly traditional trend?
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May 15, 2025
May 15, 2025 at 1:47 PM UTC
Hereditary Hush
Ponder this… We were never born of sin.
 We were born in God’s image.
 And God is not broken. He is perfect.
 He is love.
 He is good.
 He is whole. So we were born whole. Sin is real…
But it is not our origin.
 It is not our identity.
 It’s a distortion, a distraction—
A veil over the truth. And the truth is…
You were never broken.
 You were always loved.
You are still whole. Remember who you are.
 Remember that inner voice calling you back.
 Heal this generation.
 Rewire our children to know:
 We are not born of sin.
 We are born of wholeness. And if we remember…
Our children’s children can know generational peace.
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Apr 15, 2025
Apr 15, 2025 at 6:58 AM UTC
Returning back to you
_Chapter I: Disappear Politely_ There was a town with one stoplight and two churches that hated each other. The first church tolled its bell louder. The second buried its girls quieter. It was the kind of place where grief was passed down like heirloom silver: polished, inherited, never touched— except to prove they had it. Where the girls learned early how to disappear with grace. They say the first one—Marlena— just walked into the lake, mouth full of wedding vows no one had asked her to write, and her prom dress still zipped. The older preacher saw her go under— didn’t move, just turned the page in his sermon book. Said later: _Girls like that always need a stage._ The parents told their daughters not to cause trouble. Told them to smile more, leak less, bloom quietly, be good— or be gone. Then cried when they vanished. Then lit candles. Then said things like “God has a plan,” to keep from imagining what the plan required. _Chapter II: The Girls Who Spoke Wrong_ A girl named Finch refused to sleep. Said her dreams were trying to arrest her. One morning they found her curled in the middle of Saint Street— like a comma the sentence abandoned. A knife in her boot, daffodils blooming from her belt loops— like she dressed for both war and funeral. Finch was buried upright. Because *God forbid a girl ever be horizontal without permission.* The sheriff was mailed her journals with no return address. He read one page. Paused. Coughed once, like the truth had teeth. Lit a match. Said it wasn’t evidence— said it was dangerous for a girl to write things no one asked her to say. No one spoke at her funeral, but every girl showed up with one eye painted black and the other wide open. Not make-up. Not bruise. Just warning. Chapter III: Half-Gone Girls & Other Ghosts And then there was Kiernan. Not missing. Not dead. Just quieter than the story required. She stuffed cotton in her ears at church— said the hymns gave her splinters. Talked to the mirror like it owed her something— maybe a mouth, maybe mercy. She was the one who found Finch’s daffodils first. Picked one. Pressed it in her journal. It left a bruise that smelled like vinegar. No one noticed when she stopped raising her hand in class. Her poems shrank to whispers, signed with initials— like she knew full names made better gravestones. Someone checked out Kiernan’s old library book last week. All the margins were full of names. None of them hers. They say she’s still here. Just not all the way. A girl named Sunday stopped speaking at eleven, and was last seen barefoot on the second church roof, humming a song no one taught her. Sunday didn’t leave a note. She figured we’d write one for her anyway. Some girls disappear all at once. Others just run out of language. Clementine left love letters in lockers signed with other girls’ names. Said she was trying to ‘redistribute the damage.’ She stood in for a girl during detention. Another time, for a funeral. Once, Clementine blew out candles on a cake that wasn’t hers. Said the girl didn’t want to age that year. Said she’d hold the wish for her— just in case. She disappeared on picture day, but her face showed up in three other portraits— blurry, but unmistakable. The town still isn’t sure who she was. But the girls remember: she took their worst days and wore them like a uniform. Chapter IV: Standing Room Only They say the town got sick of digging. Said it took too much space to bury the girls properly. So they stopped. Started placing them upright in the dirt, palms pressed together, like they were praying for revenge. Or maybe just patience. The lake only takes what’s already broken. It’s polite like that. It waits. They renamed it Mirrorlake— but no one looks in. The daffodils grow back faster when girls go missing— brighter, almost smug, petals too yellow to mean joy anymore. No one picks them. No one dares. The earth hums lullabies in girls’ names, soft as bone dust, steady as sleep. There’s never been enough room for a girl to rest here— just enough to pose her pretty. They renamed the cemetery “Resthill,” but every girl calls it The Standing Room. Chapter V: When the Dirt Starts Speaking Someone said they saw Clementine in the mirror at the gas station— wearing someone else’s smile and mouthing: “wrong year.” The school yearbook stopped printing senior quotes. Too many girls used them wrong. Too many girls turned them into prophecies. Too many girls were never seniors. They didn’t bury them standing up to honor them. They just didn’t want to kneel. The stoplight has started skipping green, like the town doesn’t believe in Go anymore. Just flickers yellow, then red, then red again. A warning no one heeds. A rhythm only the girls who are left seem to follow. Some nights, the air smells like perfume that doesn’t belong to anyone. And the church bells ring without being touched. Only once. Always just once. At 3:03 a.m. Now no one says the word ‘daughter’ without spitting. No one swims in the lake. The pews sigh when the mothers sit down. Both preachers said: “Trust God. Some girls just love the dark.” But some nights— when the ground hums low and the stoplight flickers yellowyellowred— you can hear a knocking under your feet, steady as a metronome. The ground is tired of being quiet. The roots have run out of room. The girls are knocking louder— not begging. Not asking. Just letting us know: they remember. And—
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Apr 6, 2025
Apr 6, 2025 at 10:50 AM UTC
The Town That Buried Its Girls Standing Up
_Chapter I: Disappear Politely_ There was a town with one stoplight and two churches that hated each other. The first church tolled its bell louder. The second buried its girls quieter. It was the kind of place where grief was passed down like heirloom silver: polished, inherited, never touched— except to prove they had it. Where the girls learned early how to disappear with grace. They say the first one—Marlena— just walked into the lake, mouth full of wedding vows no one had asked her to write, and her prom dress still zipped. The older preacher saw her go under— didn’t move, just turned the page in his sermon book. Said later: _Girls like that always need a stage._ The parents told their daughters not to cause trouble. Told them to smile more, leak less, bloom quietly, be good— or be gone. Then cried when they vanished. Then lit candles. Then said things like “God has a plan,” to keep from imagining what the plan required. _Chapter II: The Girls Who Spoke Wrong_ A girl named Finch refused to sleep. Said her dreams were trying to arrest her. One morning they found her curled in the middle of Saint Street— like a comma the sentence abandoned. A knife in her boot, daffodils blooming from her belt loops— like she dressed for both war and funeral. Finch was buried upright. Because *God forbid a girl ever be horizontal without permission.* The sheriff was mailed her journals with no return address. He read one page. Paused. Coughed once, like the truth had teeth. Lit a match. Said it wasn’t evidence— said it was dangerous for a girl to write things no one asked her to say. No one spoke at her funeral, but every girl showed up with one eye painted black and the other wide open. Not make-up. Not bruise. Just warning. Chapter III: Half-Gone Girls & Other Ghosts And then there was Kiernan. Not missing. Not dead. Just quieter than the story required. She stuffed cotton in her ears at church— said the hymns gave her splinters. Talked to the mirror like it owed her something— maybe a mouth, maybe mercy. She was the one who found Finch’s daffodils first. Picked one. Pressed it in her journal. It left a bruise that smelled like vinegar. No one noticed when she stopped raising her hand in class. Her poems shrank to whispers, signed with initials— like she knew full names made better gravestones. Someone checked out Kiernan’s old library book last week. All the margins were full of names. None of them hers. They say she’s still here. Just not all the way. A girl named Sunday stopped speaking at eleven, and was last seen barefoot on the second church roof, humming a song no one taught her. Sunday didn’t leave a note. She figured we’d write one for her anyway. Some girls disappear all at once. Others just run out of language. Clementine left love letters in lockers signed with other girls’ names. Said she was trying to ‘redistribute the damage.’ She stood in for a girl during detention. Another time, for a funeral. Once, Clementine blew out candles on a cake that wasn’t hers. Said the girl didn’t want to age that year. Said she’d hold the wish for her— just in case. She disappeared on picture day, but her face showed up in three other portraits— blurry, but unmistakable. The town still isn’t sure who she was. But the girls remember: she took their worst days and wore them like a uniform. Chapter IV: Standing Room Only They say the town got sick of digging. Said it took too much space to bury the girls properly. So they stopped. Started placing them upright in the dirt, palms pressed together, like they were praying for revenge. Or maybe just patience. The lake only takes what’s already broken. It’s polite like that. It waits. They renamed it Mirrorlake— but no one looks in. The daffodils grow back faster when girls go missing— brighter, almost smug, petals too yellow to mean joy anymore. No one picks them. No one dares. The earth hums lullabies in girls’ names, soft as bone dust, steady as sleep. There’s never been enough room for a girl to rest here— just enough to pose her pretty. They renamed the cemetery “Resthill,” but every girl calls it The Standing Room. Chapter V: When the Dirt Starts Speaking Someone said they saw Clementine in the mirror at the gas station— wearing someone else’s smile and mouthing: “wrong year.” The school yearbook stopped printing senior quotes. Too many girls used them wrong. Too many girls turned them into prophecies. Too many girls were never seniors. They didn’t bury them standing up to honor them. They just didn’t want to kneel. The stoplight has started skipping green, like the town doesn’t believe in Go anymore. Just flickers yellow, then red, then red again. A warning no one heeds. A rhythm only the girls who are left seem to follow. Some nights, the air smells like perfume that doesn’t belong to anyone. And the church bells ring without being touched. Only once. Always just once. At 3:03 a.m. Now no one says the word ‘daughter’ without spitting. No one swims in the lake. The pews sigh when the mothers sit down. Both preachers said: “Trust God. Some girls just love the dark.” But some nights— when the ground hums low and the stoplight flickers yellowyellowred— you can hear a knocking under your feet, steady as a metronome. The ground is tired of being quiet. The roots have run out of room. The girls are knocking louder— not begging. Not asking. Just letting us know: they remember. And—
Continue reading...
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