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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