On The Ceiling

Photo by Pedro Dias

Carnivorous snakes feed on my red temptation,

And my neck breaks in places I cannot patch up.

The diamonds are fake, yet they cause suffocation.

Greed will seal my fate if I choose to look up.

-Jackie

Infidelity

Photo by Matheus Natan

Those steep cliffs will send you right over the edge,

Those tall buildings will shake you right off the ledge.

One more step, one more scene, one more indiscretion,

And I will pack up the answers and leave the questions.

These wild roses will bite you with their thorns,

These new roads will make you regret you were born.

One more word, one more tear, one more midnight affair,

And I will take back the promise to keep it fair.

-Jackie

Your Ghost Stories

Photo by Darya Sannikova

The lines I drew in the sand are starting to erase my limbs.

I hold onto the frame, but it feels like dancing on a rim.

The moments I shared with you keep rewriting themselves,

And I wonder whether the ghost stories will fade

If I just ask for help.

-Jackie

Star-crossed

Photo by Skyler Ewing

Tiny claws scrape my knees with surgeon’s precision,

They leave marks I am too scared to show my friends.

I cannot hold down time, I cannot make the decision.

These black and blue nights have only violet ends.

-Jackie

The Mark

Photo by Darya Sannikova

My name is spelled out in the backyard,

And it’s burning in purple flames.

The grass is turning into poisonous gasses,

And I shrivel up in pale shame.

-Jackie

The Symptoms

Photo by Plato Terentev

The symptoms are kicking in this evening.

My throat is burning, yet you call my pain mild.

It’s been a minute since I’ve been with a sinner,

It’s been a while since I’ve felt like a child.

The devil left you on my doorstep like a gift,

But now I wonder if it was just a warning.

The sheets wrap around me like tentacles,

And you suffocate me by calling me “darling”.

-Jackie

Vengeful

Photo by Masha Raymers

Do you think the final punishment will match the crime?

I light up maroon matches and I melt your bloody dimes.

Those who branded me vengeful should cover their ears.

The head only respects what the beating heart fears.

-Jackie

Ice Cold

Photo by Yaroslav Shuraev

I chose to believe that you adored me,

Now we’re both caught in the bitter middle.

The temperatures are nearing double zeroes,

And your fiery tongue plays me like a fiddle.

I chose to believe just one single truth,

Now the lies are threatening an avalanche.

Would you give up the cold if I begged?

Would you waste your warmth on a pretty chance?

-Jackie

Stained Glass

Photo by Irina Kaminskaya

The hot summer rain rolls up its bloody sleeves

As masks fall off your face like autumn leaves.

The layers you keep building from stained glass

Form an emerald church for the midnight mass.

-Jackie

The Finest

Photo by Raphael Brasileiro

The song plays on a loop in my new apartment,

And the sound surrounds me like a circle of hell.

Those missiles I aimed at your cast iron skin,

They must have convinced you to kiss and tell.

Intentions are dull like the weapons you used.

Now I justify my love to the worried masses.

What if giving up is our safest option?

What if the goodbyes broke our finest glasses?

-Jackie