What teenager sits at the bottom of the stairs
Counting the shoes at the door,
Counting the scratches on the shelf?
Writing crappy poems because
_my english teacher said to try harder._
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 shoes.
11 pairs.
Counting to 22 does not fit with the _rhythm_
of what they call 'poetry',
but these numbers are _God._
I am the sum
of every rule book I have read,
and...
(I'm convinced this prompt is the cure for writer's block)
~
TW: suicidal ideation
~
Ask me who I am;
Berate me like my mother.
Clear your throat and
Dare to choke — a boy like any other.
Evade me if you must.
Forget about the stars
Gloating through the curtains when you
Hide behind those bars.
I might call tomorrow,
Jealousy soaked to the bone.
Kudos to your sister, never leaving you alone.
...
draft, needs editing
~~~
Deify me.
You know how I thrive on your idolatry.
I inject attention like a drug,
_(He hurls rejection, like a drunk),_
And I'm angry.
I fight with my fists and my poetry
_(He's afraid of himself and withdraws)._
I'm monstrous and confident; I
speak my mind.
_(His only battle _
_ is against his own claws)_
I am angry.
_(He's all talk.)_
Don't complimen...
_TW: abuse, homophobia_
Him
and me.
In between us,
a father's guarded knuckles
waiting to deny his masculinity.
Boy meets boy, fist meets face.
I remember when I saw his bruises.
He hates himself, I know, for loving me.
I pray, but know God isn't on our side.
~~~
*not based on personal experience*...
_CW: SH, some negative feelings around Christianity, implied religious conversion therapy and internalised transphobia_
_~~~_
He wondered if he'd fly if he could hollow out his bones,
so he sucked out all the marrow and the light behind his eyes.
He's a skeleton of apple cores,
the victim of desire.
His only enemy: this body,
and his God.
_Forgive...
TW: implied SH
~~~
Did you hear about that snob in your maths class?
You sneaked a look at his paper:
the glaring 99, ink red like a flesh wound,
like his glazed-over, taciturn eyes.
He called it a fail
and, with eyes on the floor,
snapped his rubber band like a whip.
You say the kid's got brains but in that moment
he is skin and skeleton. Ribs
cracked to splinters,
because now that he cannot b...
Don't cry;
Go to the gym. Let your muscles scream,
And relish it.
Don't cry;
Drink a pint. Call your mates and laugh
At that girl's expense.
Don't cry, boy;
Smoke a cig. They can never ever see
Inside your lungs.
Don't cry;
Call your girl. Take it out
On her.
'Cause you're a sour little boy;
You're insecure.
Don't cry;
Mommy's here.
Don't collapse into her arms —
Just turn away.
Don't cry,...
TW: ED and drug use
Ashley said she wants to rip all of her hair out
'Cause it will never be as soft as Emmeline's.
Ashy lungs, coughing her tongue up every midnight,
Like she could smoke away the bitter in her rind.
Ashley took down all the mirrors in her bedroom;
She couldn't bear to look the monster in the eye.
"Talia's so pretty — why can't I be her?"
Tally numbers from the scale until you d...
TW: SH, suicide, disordered eating
Who is going to die today?
And who will live without
A sister or a brother
Or a fragment of themself?
Who is going to slit their wrists?
And who will slice right through
And bleed onto the carpet
Of our old, bunk-bedded room?
Who will finally get to go
And who will be the one
To break it to our parents
That their only child is gone?
Who will keep the scars...
