You would think by now I know
That the soil that builds me up Can only hold so much water Yet, I, Hinrik, still cling to that falsehood Clutch onto it, drowning it with me in the dirt So I sink ever lower and the sun, Abandons me as well But still my roots anchor Fastening to the crumbs below And fragile, patient, sturdy, I prepare to bloom
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What a simple question
That rubs the back of my throat As my feet thump against green tiles And light glimmers through a doorway Where there resides empty desks Except for one, in the back The largest one A back bent over papers Illuminated by the sun To my students, I can count All the digits in their names Yet for her, I cannot speak eighteen Will you go out with me? We held each other through the waves of time
Two brothers: Noah and me As the tendrils of the sea grasped our bodies We hiccuped and sand fell out Littering the ground with love Thriving in the midst of chaos We decided then, That day in the ocean, No matter what, We had each other And It wasn’t fair It wasn’t right It shouldn’t be Just us But it was And We clutched each other’s hands As the abyss shrouded ourselves Until the sun rose over the waves Being around you makes me free
I am a fish swirling through the air My tail flailing among the clouds And you are the rain That soothes my haunted scales As I struggle against the wind You were the first that was there To witness my ascent and my descent To hug my weary tears as I plummet Through the Earth’s crust Clutching nothing but luck You are my friend and you let me be Just a girl who does not deserve This much love Henry has a dinosaur suit
Zz zz zz the zipper goes Tightening around his Golden tan skin And straight black hair Only dark brown eyes peep Henry is nine, But he knows Life can feel safer in A Dinosaur Suit Than outside Where snakes hide Between red lips And Birds fly away Leaving him Alone Nolan can transform
He can rub his hands Dazzle his black hair Unwind by the ocean Smile for everyone And he would be different But not himself… The thing is Nolan loves himself He loves many people in fact Friends Parents Siblings Teachers Classmates Neighbors Maybe not his siblings (But definitely his dog) But strings cut his deep brown wrists And wrench him apart A clock squats on his heart And his legs can only tread so far Water thrums at his feet on the verge of sweeping him away Nolan wants his friends, parents, teachers, the world to be happy But he forgets himself Nolan, you are not alone You do not have to transform You are Beautiful and the world is happy to have you in it It began smooth
Pebbles rolling under fresh sneakers Wind shuffling black hair Sun drifting behind clouds Eve barely noticed the blood-drops etched in her brown palms She… thought… the stars would soar But only sores sprouted on her skin Deep red bumps clinging to her body Blemishes hidden by sleeves Words concealed by her brain So she fell Into sewers No one knew that Eve Yamashita That quiet girl Whose mother died when she was six Had plummeted She still smiled, she still laughed, she still existed But she was tumbling down Eve’s father--Nick, née Vincent-- loved her Yet, she didn’t want him to worry So she cut her tongue She slid and slid and slid Jagged stones excavating flesh A tempest blustering above An intoxicating star burning What... she didn’t… realize was That Although she was plummeting And nothing was smooth, There were still planets she could reach, Stars she could climb, Warmth she could feel Because What she forgot Eve could still soar Bìhn La has been waiting
Yellow weeds scratch their ankles Breezes itch their pale brown skin Their smile, tense, echoes Two days ago marked their 47th year Breathing, sleeping, moving Craving a genesis Aching to belong, but not Now, sit at rusted benches That only chafers accompany Bìhn hungers for growth, change, a metamorphosis Something to sustain, to protect, to encourage At night, they lie under white sheets with ink sparking their eyes They search between lines and under bindings They scan digits and icons They slump on dusty ground, black hair tangling with weeds Uncertainty wavers in their heart All that Bìhn yearns for is a single story One story that acknowledges they exist There are arrows embedded in Sarita Or, at least, that’s what she claims They pierce her skin and leave H O L E S Foster parents provide Ointments and creams Long, unspelble words Attopik drmaattus But the arrows stay Red dots on beautiful brown skin Still, they try: Long-sleeve shirts in Summer Night, knee-high socks on hands Kindergarten photos, head-only Sarita is bleeding Yet, only outside Inside, may be arrows But If you ask her, Her skin is B e u t i f u l Thank you for reading! If you like my poem, please don’t be afraid to give it a share. Comments are always welcome and I love hearing your thoughts. Question: When was a time you felt comfortable with your appearance and others did not?
Do you ever need a panda hug? A hug just for you; I know I do Things are just so confusing Now With COVID, with life, with all the stuff With sisters, with parents, with belonging to a family With finding a home and possibly losing it With ignorance, prejudice, and police shootings With thunderstorms, heat, and shouting neighbors How day-after-day I'm alone with Mykayla while parents are out Now Suzanna, I say to myself, Time to breathe And faintly, I feel the panda hug Thank you for reading! If you like my poem, please don't be afraid to give it a share. Comments are always welcome and I love hearing your thoughts. Question: When was a time you needed a panda hug?
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AuthorI'm Darcy Ridge, creating stories that all revolve around family and identity in a myriad of ways. In the past, I have shared multiple stories and published a novella online. You can find me on Wattpad and many other social media websites. They/them [Image Description: black background with the words "Social Justice and Mental Health Resources" in white in the center /end ID]
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