maelynslavik

Sickly sweet,

Your words touch my prefrontal cortex

Like soft burning snow.

Your touch tastes sweeter

Than ice cream

On a humid sun-streaked day.

You,

Frost-borne by the north wind,

Author Bio: I wrote "Take Me Away," when I felt swamped with a growing list of things to do. It made me miss the days, in the pandemic when I’d run around the backyard, screaming “I’m bored!”

I hold my secrets in the shape of stars,

constellation-clustered candy like flaming balls of gas.

Sometimes they have five points.

Sometimes six.

Always, they burn

in that space inside your head

I went to the LGBTQ+ youth center for the first time.

For a year 

I stared at the website, 

wanting nothing more than to go.

When I finally went, on a Wednesday,

always carry your keys between your middle and ring finger 

never have your wallet visible 

don't listen to music in public 

everyone's a stranger 

you're our child; don't scare us. 

Sometimes I feel like I am running on a treadmill towards a big shiny sign that says “Relaxation.” Surronding the big shiny words are lots of other words.