First Love/Nightmare

Photo by George Shervashidze

Cherish me with cherry red lips

And worship me like a worthy opponent.

See me through blue tears and rips,

And cover me in clovers before we lose this moment.

Hide me with pride and malice.

Sink in your teeth to drink me like champagne.

Light a spark in this dark palace

And show me how to talk through the pain.

Slide the pin right under my skin,

Then pretend like the truth is not bending.

Sip me slowly, just like a holy sin.

Reassure me that this is not the ending.

Float above my throat at midnights,

Pulling out my vocal cords one by one.

Sprinkle smoke in the clearest twilights

And tell me that my sweet tongue is a gun.

Go and heal my meanest demons.

Let the magazines know and make a scene.

Push me down the stairs as a treatment,

Turn my soul into a figurine.

-Jackie

Exiled

Photo by Joyce Dias

Arrows buzz by my earlobes like hungry bees

As some hypnotized crowds chase me down the road.

The smell of my terror makes their knees weak,

And their anger feels like some cyphered code.

I am the beast they exiled from their forests.

I am the beast they summoned when they were bored.

My victims might haunt me for being honest,

But these crowds made me feel loved and adored.

Now they chase me down paths good people avoid,

And their sizzling hot words spill on me like ink.

No amount of bloodshed will fill their black voids.

Still – they try to wash me down the kitchen sink.

As I hear them tiring and running out of breath,

A dark red border appears in the distance.

Once I cross that curved line, I will lose this bet.

Will they cheer as my memory slips from existence?

-Jackie

Run Witch Run

Photo by Lucas Pezeta

The midnight arrived at my door like a treacherous whisper. 

I had been accused, but my judgement would always stay sealed. 

Disdainful warnings shot through the wood and the crystals,

And I knew they had sworn to never offer me a deal.

They held pulsating purple lighters in their twitching hands,

Swaying gently as their gilded rage built in vacant chests.

They wanted to slay me again to finally cleanse these holy lands,

And bleed me dry until their dusty town became blessed.

I hated most faces in the roaring crowd, but I knew hers,

With its stainless steel look of pure pride and undying conviction. 

With each cursed step she took, she built me a newer hearse. 

“Run, witch, run,” she shrieked, fulfilling the silent prediction. 

-Jackie

Teeth In My Ribcage

Photo by Ruslan Rozanov

Hopelessness looms over me like a dark cloud,

And the raindrops keep washing away my humanity.

There is nothing people will remember me for,

So, I sit quietly and do not challenge gravity.

My skin is prickly and unpleasant to touch.

My eyes were once gates, but now they dig holes.

I peel off the layers of my flesh one by one,

Hoping judgements and rumors will swallow me whole.

The papers claim I let my victims bleed out,

Then lift them with my skeletal frame until they scream.

Nosy tongues say that I carry teeth in my ribcage,

It ensures that my heart stays hungry and lean.

Silence begs me to ask questions I should not know,

And I feel a wave of guilt building right in front of me.

God, I wish I never showed them that I can bite.

I am the monster they built, and I am their deity.

-Jackie

Guilty

Photo by Thirdman

I bend my neck while looking in the dusty mirror,

Trying to recall where they sank in their teeth.

The silence in my room is muffling my howls,

And my skin is a portal with nothing underneath.

I have treated these bruises a dozen times,

But the recipe suddenly slips my loud thoughts.

Did they drain me below the point of no return?

Will the next sip break me down to parts?

I hear them all scratching at the metal door,

Begging for one more taste of the forbidden.

The scars on my back ache in a horrid rhythm.

Do I fight or do I leave my soul bedridden?

I feel veins popping as the red rage spreads,

And suddenly there is no right or wrong.

Maybe I should bite back until nothing matters,

Maybe I was the beast all along.

-Jackie

Summoning The Beast

Photo by Алекке Блажин

It started with candles and a bottle of gin,

And a text from my ex begging me to come over.

I deleted the number three weeks ago

When I saw hot ashes on her pale shoulders.

I spilled all the water on her old sofa,

Swearing to never let my lips say her name.

But these candles whisper in gentle tones,

And escaping darkness is a terrible game.

The floor creaks under my weight as I break.

If I move, the night will swallow me whole.

These voices around me are getting louder.

My own voice feels like it’s only a mole.

I feel fingers tracing my shoulders with ice,

And my eyelids refuse to open up.

Low growls snake around my pale skull.

I know I will have to drink from the cup.

Still, it started with candles and one hex,

And a text from ex wishing me true peace.

I have bottled up every gram of my rage.

Tonight I will finally summon the beast.

-Jackie

Green Eyes

Photo by Khoa Võ

My hot sweat freezes the moment it touches the air,

And I am afraid to blink in case my eyeballs burst.

Those bright green irises in the woods move in pairs.

Both of my feet are glued to the grass with a curse.

I do not know how to breathe without them shrieking,

And the wind is now picking up the pace in leaps.

The door between life and death is violently creaking.

Those bright green eyes will kill me in my sleep.

-Jackie

I Will Be The Prey

Photo by Rafael Santos

The ache shoots through my trembling body,

It gets buried so deep I can barely survive.

I know I am alive because you haunt me,

But I am not sure if my love can be revived.

I was the hunter, but you took my weapons,

Humbling me in front of the crowds.

I allowed it to happen, thinking you care,

While you grew me a forest of violent doubts.

Not sure if you were avenging yourself

Or if my confidence was your last enemy.

Go and take your apologies to your grave.

I will be the prey in your shining legacy.

-Jackie

Joyless

Photo by Chris F

I never gave you a smile, never gave you my time,

Never got in that plane, never bought that ticket.

The seconds are ticking away, but they’re all mine.

Where do I put my love once you call it wicked?

I was never vulnerable, I was never that open,

Never thought it was you who I should be fearing.

I sprinkled my kindness right into your oven.

You burned it alive, called the cries endearing.

I gave you company while dying from loneliness,

But I never should have wasted so much peace.

The city corners branded me the pale baroness,

And they predicted that your love is a disease.

You never gave me hope, never wasted my time,

Never waited at the airport, never brought me joy.

The kindness is slipping away with the chimes.

Where will you put my love once I break that toy?

-Jackie

My Bogeyman

Photo by Tayla Walsh

There’s nobody left here to listen, just my therapist,

And I have to check my words at the door.

I know you’re watching it unravel from the precipice

With that little smirk I always adored.

My eyes can’t meet yours, not just yet.

The doctors keep telling me that I shouldn’t see you.

I can’t afford to lose another royal bet,

But the sharp winds force me to retreat too.

What will become of this story, my bogeyman?

Will I write myself dry or respect your last wishes?

You just want me to run as far as I can

While in my head we’re breaking oaths and dishes.

Still, there’s no one left to hear me out,

And everyone who knew me found a reason to flee.

The silence you grant me tastes like a drought.

I’m trying to decide if this woe is my prophecy.

-Jackie