october 21 2021

my hair flames like fire when the sun burns a halo round my head
it shines dark like ink when i baptize my thoughts
leaving pools of wine to soak my bed

even shackles can be a bracelet if you pretend
my young bones have learned to sleep on a concrete floor
and every year i wonder if the winter has always been this cold

the water of the wombs isn't a thin as our walls
the paint chips off as i watch it dry, arsenic falling on my tongue just right
i wait till the night goes quiet to walk these halls

they want me to open my third eye, but i want to gouge out my first two
i know you're right, but no one listens
i know you're right, but it's just me and you

will you remember me 10 years from now?
you say you will but i don't know how
do you remember how the orange leaves looked as you took your first steps?
you say you do, but in my head, i'll watch the ghosts of the people we used to be.