Pain crawls down my back, Spiders shiver up my spine. All I see is your eye through a crack. If only your eyes and soul could love mine.

Alas they do not, For you fell for the wrong girl. Didn’t give me a thought Treated like a pebble when I’m a pearl.

So lie there now, while you have time. Digging a grave for the man you became, Raw end of the stick? My love isn’t a crime. Without you there’s no spark to my flame!

Forget the girl who wiped your tears, I’m no girl, I’m worth nothing at all. She’ll forget all about you in a few years. This lover here? I’ll remember you, my doll.

So don’t wait up for a sweetheart, She’ll never see you again. My life without you won’t start, Why do I always get sick over men?

Scars line my body over you, Love for us is in another territory. You’ll know what hells I’ve been through, Even the dead tell stories.

Whispers that come in the night often carry further than those in the day. That was why our kids knew before I could send you away. A secret once revealed can only be kept when someone dies. It could be her, but it’s down to me versus your lies. The trees carry your deceit through their leaves like rainwater. I put my life and future in your hands and got crushed in slaughter. I thought kids were shared, but apparently borrowed too. I’ll take your hypocrisy and shove it- oh if only you knew. Next time you lie in bed next to her take a look around. And before you close both eyes look for me hiding on the ground.

Romantic banter rushes through rows. Sixth grade Boy Scouts put on a show, Bubblegum pops in my ear as I go, Tires pop too, gotta drive slow slow slow.

The mirror above on the bus wall Tells me gossip is the fairest of all Even though band kids are nice and tall, Their tiny hopes will be dashed and take a fall

Cheerleaders kick a kid in the shin Soon football players see and plunge in. I’ll swerve the bus, smash the case of a violin Stop being so mean, you’re literally ten.

Expulsion is harsh, but guess what’s worse? Feeling like the world has sent you a curse, As the expelled bully thinks you are hers, Being too nervous of a bully to finish a verse

Kids suck so much, They’d make a dirty joke at me saying such, Yet compared to adults they come in clutch. Adults think life is broke, kids make a crutch.

A deal with a man devil, Hops to daddy as a frog. Money won’t save you now, tuck your tail between your legs like a dog.

A vow with a queen, Who looks not even like a Princess, But is pure enough to do better than you, Still her kindness saved you in an instance.

Advice stirred with affection, Yet the only loss a greedy frog thinks of Is the powerful loss of money, Still love is what friends think of up above.

So remember your naive self absorption Before fears ruins you. Lust is a sin, And of those the frog prince has a few.

Lost in the fog Alone in the deep Bound by a promise That he couldn’t keep.

Opening a small trapdoor, crouched on my knees pulling a lock, I yearned to know what was inside. I’ve seen Coraline, but I don’t have a dysfunctional family so I’m not worried about being preyed on by a psychotic spider lady.

Tugging the lock mechanism until it popped off, the small wooden door creaked open. There wasn’t an ounce of light inside, and call me a cat, but curiosity got the best of me.

Stepping down a ladder into an unknown part of what I assumed was a basement, I stepped with my hands in front of me until I found another door. It only made sense it went through to the other hallway in my new home, but when I opened it up it was the door I had originally opened.

After that, I tested the odds and went back in. After that I couldn’t get out again, and even the police investigating my missing persons report couldn’t hear my screams for help. Curiosity killed this cat.

I’m not happy with the life I live Floating on a driftwood easy reality
Life without happiness to give Drink away the pain a 9 to 5 decrees

Pump it into me, the feelings That I rely on to succeed Grab for the top, weighing down the links That hold together my life, it’s an easy read

Can I stay fulfilled while my soul is killed? I want to go but I can’t leave all my goals Send them all away, dreams I could build
If you like how I seem, find your own roles

My life isn’t a chess piece to be played Neither is my career, but who gives a damn About what I do other than myself anyway? I could be my best, but content hasn’t stayed

Shouts rang through the crowd, but they were quiet compared to the shot I fired, straight into my brother’s heart.

He had been drugged, it wasn’t his fault. The medical examiner determined that the reason he was trying to kill me that night was that someone had slipped something into his drink.

I wouldn’t be charged, it was self defense.

At the funeral, subtle glares followed my footsteps, along with kind words from understanding people.

At the grocery store, I can hear murmurs in other aisles.

In the waiting room for my own therapist it was like this.

But my sister-in-law, she was on my soda. Erica only surrounded us with people who were kind to me. She was on my side, because apparently there have to be sides.

That’s why I was surprised when she picked to slip something in my wine while handing out sides at a dinner party with only people who “supported” us.

Magic is what happens when the sun rises When the tide rolls in the magic doesn’t fall The sun does, but the moon causes the tide To grow big and wide, on opposite ends Of the cosmos; where said magic begins For the sun and the moon pull at their bond Unbreakable as ever, magic prospered For it made earth, of which cosmos was fond

Ariana and I grew up next door. Inseparable. Went to the same school, the government let us get the same jobs, and we still live with our parents until a match can be found.

Except last night Ariana told me she isn’t waiting for a match. Here’s how it went.

“Daisy, I’m not waiting for some stupid machine to tell me who to marry,” Ari shouted in an outburst during our scheduled break.

“What do you mean? You can’t just marry whoever you want. Who would you even marry?” I replied hastily, not even taking time to breath. Secretly I had been hoping for this.

“I sure can. Just because we are nurses doesn’t mean we can’t rent law books at the library. What I want isn’t covered in the law, and according to Statute 224, I can do it,” she whispered as our coworker passed by.

“Men and women have to get matched. It’s law,” I told her, shaking my head. Ariana roughly grabbed my hand, pulling me into the hallway.

“Men and women. Not two women. And I think you knew what you were saying when you pointed out genders,” Ariana explained.

“I know,” I replied, looping my fingers through hers.

What happened after that ended in a secret engagement and that’s all you need to know.

 —————— 1 Month Later ——————

We left a letter on each of our parent’s kitchen tables. Telling them we are going to apply for a marriage license together. And one letter to our good friend Alan, he works for the government approved newsletter. We both wanted to tell them to their faces, with respect.

I know it’s the right thing to do, but I can’t bring myself. Ariana is more confident than I am and even she is afraid they’ll push against our plans.

The steps to the courthouse are a shiny marble, and the sun is glaring at us like society would.

“Hello, how can we apply for a marriage license?” Ariana asked more loudly than I would have liked.

“Oh ma’am you and your boyfriend both need to show your mate card for a proof of match,” the secretary said while juggling a phone and a notepad.

“Well my girlfriend and I aren’t legally required to do so, and are also not breaking any laws by getting married,” Ariana replied.

“Your WHAT?” the secretary questioned, whipping her head up so fast that the loose bun on her head fell out. A blood vessel in her forehead popped up, along with an eyebrow.

“I’m her girlfriend, and we aren’t breaking any laws so please help us get this license,” I piped up hopefully.

“O-ok. Follow me right this way,” the woman replied, leading us through multiple doors and conference rooms, all while phoning someone about our “situation”.

Pushing open a black door, a large empty room welcomed us more than its occupants. A tall, bald man in a suit and someone behind him frowned at us.

“Mr. President, I’m so sorry I didn’t know you’d be attending today,” the secretary said.

The President nodded at her and flicked his hand, and the bald man shoved her out of the door speedily.

“Ladies. Sit.”

We sat, obviously.

“You can meet your match right now and forget this ever happened, or you can face the punishment of your actions. Rules are in place for a reason. You cannot break them,” the President explained to us.

After digesting the fact that I was talking to the President, Ariana’s voice rang through my ears.

“We will face whatever consequences toy bigots want.” she spat at the men.

“Miss.... Daisy Mattingly, how about you?” he asked.

“I think my fiancé summed it up perfectly,” I said, grabbing Ariana’s hand for support.

“Oh well, Bruce you know what to do,” he said to the bald man. Quickly the man tore Ariana away from me, and I ran towards her as she wrestled free of his grasp. The doors were locked, so I pulled her into a deep embrace, lips intertwining.

Then she fell to the ground at the sound of a gunshot.

OH MY GOD NO. The screams I hear are all mine, blood covering my hands as I shake her lifeless body. NO NO NO.

And then they get me too. But the letters we left. People will know. We aren’t really gone.

In the deep darkness of pollution I’m lookin for a brighter solution One not filled with cars and trains Not technology and fast flying planes I seek a greater tomorrow And for that wisdom we must borrow The ways of the past lives of human kind Or society out of machine muck we can’t find So destroy a city like we destroyed the land Honest life will cause the flames to be fanned