Immy

A million worlds
Built from your words
Caverns filled with promises

Don't lie and tell me that 
Even without sparks
Fires can burn

Growth is something your
Hands cannot force upon me 

flowery wings bat at my cheeks
leaving gaping paper cuts
spilling blood down my face
where it drips down and pools
in the dip where my collarbone meets my shoulder
a birdbath
for these paper birds

 

my shoes are filled with flowers
and my eyes reflect the stars
but my arms are sore from reaching
and bruises mar my heart
 

i love to talk about the scar on my forehead
it’s a small crescent indent right in between my eyes
and if you ask what it’s from
i’d love to tell you that
i got it when my brother flung my head against a table corner 

we’ve been watching a boy on fire
he’s framed by heat
but nothing burns him
we turned away when he was born
in a world where he woke up
dowsed in gasoline
and our nation lit a match
setting him ablaze

I am the rough draft of a person
riddled with messy mistakes
underlined adjectives that don't fit
chapters filled with people
who come and go
but won't end up in the final edit
memories I'm sure to forget