Tag: fiction

Soft Spot

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Photo by Suzy Hazelwood

Back in my hometown they still tell these tales,

They say I bite off heads, then bite off tails.

Maybe they are not that far off with that rumor,

But it has been a while since I got their humor.

It has been a minute since I lost the heavy shield

Or told someone how I hate to bleed and feel.

Should I blame my nature or nurture for this?

Is there a way out of the corner of an abyss?

I hide the soft spot in my chest as they observe,

Hoping they find my sadness well-deserved.

As long as they talk, this feeling stays mine,

It stays between you, me and the passage of time.

-Jackie

Don’t

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Photo by Q. Hưng Phạm

Don’t erase my footsteps in the sand,

Don’t enrage the armies of my land.

My troops play with skulls of the guilty.

They will play with yours if you kill me.

Don’t smother me with borrowed shame,

Don’t soften the rules of this crooked game.

My enemies will cast the first stone,

But they will kill you when you feel alone.

-Jackie

Worship

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Photo by shahin khalaji

Slice my thoughts in round pieces and feed them to the masses,

Bathe me in fake blood until that hunger passes.

I am not made of flesh, but I am not a dreamy vision,

So, be careful, dearest, when you make the incision.

Pull me back from the fire and wrap me in some gauze,

Break my pride and bad temper, then break all the laws.

I am not for consumption, but you can worship me freely,

And once the first love passes, you can refuse to free me.

-Jackie

Prey

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Photo by Nikita Lutsenko

One single step in the wrong direction

And I’m once more just a selfless wreck.

I brave storms and small discretions,

But heavy words loop around my neck.

Their voices cut my ears like blades.

A moment more, and I’ll lose my balance.

The horizon paints my city jade.

I hear them scream as I lift my talons.

A curse is trapped between the whispers,

And their tongues make my feathers bleed.

Lies land like ashes on white whiskers.

I guess some people cannot be freed.

-Jackie

In This Dark Winter Palace

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Photo by Polina Chistyakova

In this dark winter palace I’ve built for myself

Spring only lives in books stocked high on the shelf.

The snow greets me, deceives me,

Makes sure no one sees me.

In this dark winter palace people don’t ask for help.

The red roses freeze alive and wait for the sun,

But I cut their corpses and stick them in guns.

The ice hides me, it tries me,

Ready to villainize me.

The red roses plan riots, but I can’t be outrun.

In this dark winter palace I’ve made from ashes

Neon poisons come from clouds in blinding splashes.

The cold pulls me and dulls me

Like I’m just a trophy.

In this dark winter palace fire dies as it catches.

-Jackie

Not Wishing You Well

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Photo by Fidan Nazim qizi

I hope my silence violates your trust.

I hope it breaks you into sharp shards,

Deadly to the touch.

I hope the void I open never heals itself

And all you know is bleeding

With no one there to help.

I hope the walls you build trap your pain.

I hope they can hold your spite

As it blooms when it rains.

I hope my joy hits you right in the chest

And sinks you like an anchor

With all the things you never confessed.

-Jackie

I Do This Every Time

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Photo by Plato Terentev

The corners of my head get darker than the starry night.

I decorate my bedroom with artificial light.

I do this every time.

Yes, I do it every time.

I tuck the pitch-black thoughts in nebulous rhymes,

And I am scared to death if I forget the next line.

I do this every time.

Yes, I do it every time.

The cobwebs in my skull drip tears that taste like lime.

I wish that I could call the little joys mine.

I do this every time.

Yes, I do it every time.

-Jackie

Almost Three Years

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Photo by Mathias Reding

If I can take it for an hour,

Then I can make it a day.

You stood there like a crypt

With nothing left to say.

If I can take it for a day,

Then I can make it a week.

Seven times the pressure,

But bleeding is for the weak.

If I can take it for a week,

Then I can make it a month.

You can kill the lights,

But I won’t stop the hunt.

If I can take it for a month,

Then I can make it a year.

You did me dirty this time,

Go and save up some fear.

If I can take it for a year,

Then I can make it almost three.

Did you know all along?

How do you even sleep?

-Jackie

Where Will They Leave Me Be?

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Photo by Alex Fu

I am staring at the black sky, but it tastes like a sour pill.

Will I end up at a hospital?

Find some peace in a graveyard or a landfill?

The questions are bigger than the universe can manage,

And I count down tomorrows,

But yesterdays tell me there’s nothing to salvage.

The great wheels of the unknown roll in the distance,

Too far for me to reach them,

Therefore, I stare and dwell on this existence.

Where will they find me, where will they leave me be?

Will a lost dog sing my last song

Or will someone call my time here a legacy?

-Jackie

Alone

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Photo by Alexey Demidov

Exhale me through parted lips,

Let me go like a breath.

I’m your burden, I’m your curse.

Just a wreck in your nets.

Put me in a cage and lock it,

And I’ll call it my home.

Drink your wine as I cry,

Lost, buried and alone.

-Jackie