ACT 1
I’m standing in front of your mom, fingers
Twitching at her sides, blindly grasping at your
Silhouette
Stamped onto a silver chain,
Glistening obnoxiously on a hollowed chest // empty // stained // suffocated
She isn’t fixable.
ACT 2
Collar bones protrude as she bends forward
Committing herself wholly to eating a slice of Cake.
(She’s been put back together by a 3 year old | projects her anger into nurturing | care- taking
But he doesn’t understand. And maybe deep down she hates him for not
Missing you More.)
ACT 3
She’s comfortable being worse.
She’s comfortable not eating | leading support groups
But what am I to say? : if skipping meals and teaching
Orphaned parents the task of essential deception is her way of honoring you, fine.
She isn’t fixable.
But you could have been.
ACT 4
I’m expecting another phone call. Or a Facebook upload : a sunflower tramp stamp.
Everyone grieves in their own way
But please God,
Let it be the tattoo.
I’m standing in front of your mom, fingers
Twitching at her sides, blindly grasping at your
Silhouette
Stamped onto a silver chain,
Glistening obnoxiously on a hollowed chest // empty // stained // suffocated
She isn’t fixable.
ACT 2
Collar bones protrude as she bends forward
Committing herself wholly to eating a slice of Cake.
(She’s been put back together by a 3 year old | projects her anger into nurturing | care- taking
But he doesn’t understand. And maybe deep down she hates him for not
Missing you More.)
ACT 3
She’s comfortable being worse.
She’s comfortable not eating | leading support groups
But what am I to say? : if skipping meals and teaching
Orphaned parents the task of essential deception is her way of honoring you, fine.
She isn’t fixable.
But you could have been.
ACT 4
I’m expecting another phone call. Or a Facebook upload : a sunflower tramp stamp.
Everyone grieves in their own way
But please God,
Let it be the tattoo.
✱✱✱
| Madelyn is a high school senior who will be attending Miami University the fall of 2017 and has previously self-published a book entitled Project: Hope, that describes the plight of refugees once they move to the States. She is an aspiring poet who is passionate about literature and creative writing, as well as coffee, 80s movies, and travel. Her favorite authors are Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Jane Austen, J.D. Salinger, Charlotte Brontë, among countless others. Madelyn's work has previously been published in Underscore Review, and she hopes to have her first collection of poetry published in 2018. Links: blog, Project Hope |
