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4 Poems by Juliette van der Molen


Shrink Me

shrink me

small

until

i cannot see

the clouds.

until

the leaves

become skyscrapers

and the daffodil

street lights

bow over me

to shine a

filtered,

safer sun.



Beautiful Things

It was supposed

to grow straight

up from the

root. Pushed

through dirt and

broke free into

air. Climbing

up high

in the sky,

she said. No

doubt about that.

Until it didn’t,

and one curve—

a shuffled element

sent one branch

to spiral, then

the next,

over it—

for companionship.

While the others

reached high,

just grew and grew

until the crippled

bark was forgotten,

knotted low.

Except—

this is the

part i see above me,

my back to the roots

as it curls—

entwined, and

i think—

so many beautiful

things get left

behind.



Wilderness Rose

If I were a rose, I wouldn’t wish to

be a two step marching Austin. Growing

in a hot house heave, under watchful eyes,

plucking hands— thumbs pricked quick by prison thorns.


I’d take my name in a three step waltz, dance to

the twisted base of Champion Trees. Flee

from constant chatter— drinking deep through

lacy leaves and verdant, wizened fingers.


A bud loosed from frightened fist, unfurled free—

secret bloom of crushed wonder— above slick

moss carpets of forest floor. Tucked tight in

mother’s soil palms, like a whispered prayer.


One imperfect petal, blown asunder,

cradled in the soft rushing shush as I

walk away and the water falls to fade—

ink from the pages of my memory.



Pocketed

i wish i could

be in your pocket—

small.

a smooth pebble—

tumbled,

from a river bank

or

a petal pressed—

fragrant,

against

your heartbeat

or

a pocket watch—

gears clicked,

soft

against you,

or

a ghost glow—

moonlight

settled

snug,

a tiny stillness

in the deep

of your pocket.




Juliette van der Molen is a writer and poet living in the Greater NYC area. She is an intersectional feminist and a member of the LGBTQIA community. She is a contributing editor for Mookychick Magazine and author of Death Library: The Exquisite Corpse Collection(Moonchild Magazine, August 2018). Her work has also appeared in Anti-Heroin Chic, Burning House Press, Memoir Mixtapes, Collective Unrest and several other publications. Forthcoming books include: Mother, May I? (Animal Heart Press, May 2019) and Anatomy of A Dress(Hedgehog Poetry Press, 2019). You can connect with her on Twitter via @j_vandermolen. Website: www.JulietteWrites.com

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