Adelaide Miller

late at night
i hear the whispers
of ivy tendrils 
as the moon’s light 
coaxes my mind
from my body

the stars float
like jellyfish 
in a vast sea
and  i wonder
what it would take
to join them

how many
prayers would 
the angels reject
and how many 
wings would i 
burn in the 
sun’s glow to try 
and reach them?

if i were 
icarus with 
freedom at
my fingertips
i would relish
the feeling
of burning wax
as it traced
melting scars
down my back
and left me 
plummeting

because then,
in the wind’s
embrace, i would find 
solace in the 
knowledge that 
my life is mine own

and when i
crashed into the
starving waves they 
would welcome
me, a child of 
salt and tears
 
LET US IN
they would screech
as the last
bit of humanity 
left me to 
slice at the 
wounds i opened 
in your name

if only i was 
pretty like
comet showers
painting Heaven
with murals of
gold thread, 
so i would not
have to embroider
my scars to 
reflect the 
halo i placed
on your head

OH MUSE
please don’t leave
me where 
the warmth
cannot find
my aching bones

and where my
skeletons 
lay buried 
in the soil 
i tilled with 
bleeding palms

you see, 
digging graves 
comes easy to 
those who 
crave the 
feeling of 
dirt beneath
their nails 

because it is
easier to wish
on fireflies
in the gloom
of summer nights
than to find 
mercy in 
Artemis
and use false
hope to
pray by 
candlelight