Telling Time

May 24, 2023Editor Underground

They say that — 

I don’t know 

I don’t know that this 

Youth is only a blip in time 

An infinitesimal wink of an eye 

That one day I’ll wake up 

And reach for the air 

Of my Innocence 

Only to find it — disappeared 

Come to the cold realization 

That it was long gone 

Had left — piece by piece 

Moment by moment 

Ruins

May 24, 2023Editor Underground

As the sun begins to peak from behind its dark veil,

Sparrows sing a mourning song. 

Air nips at my numb nose, 

my breath dancing away. 

Oak beams tumble down 

Crashing, lifting dust into the air. 

Rot sequesters in my mind 

Each smudge of dirt, a stain. 

Never to be removed 

as paint keeps chipping. 

Echos of moments long since past 

bounce around in empty halls 

like cut edges of a rope. 

Threads unraveling, 

Never meant to reunite. 

Sixteen

May 24, 2023Editor Underground

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault

You were 16 years old, young and naive, 

Your heart belonged to a soul who didn’t cherish you, so you gallivanted for pleasure in the arms of another. 

You were juvenile and injudicious, only focusing on the fulfillment he gave to your womanhood.

Eternity

May 24, 2023Editor Underground

One last breath, one last touch, 

I give in to the moment. God says I must. 

This is the end, I feel no pain, 

I’m numb to the cancer in my veins. 

18 years I’ve been fighting this war, 

I surrender peacefully. I cannot take any more. 

Moment in Time

May 24, 2023Editor Underground

I look towards my future, and I see

Moments in times I dream 

I see a big vast ocean,

a beautiful sea I see myself healing 

And healing others like me 

I see warmth and brightness 

Reflecting like pools of honey 

I see love and light 

I see it fill the loneliness in me 

I see no boundaries