Dull Crowds

Photo by Haley Black

I don’t think it was the ray of light that stopped us

And I don’t trust gods who wanted to cause the ruckus.

It wasn’t the moon and it wasn’t the sun in the sky.

If I ask you twice, you must come up with a better lie.

I don’t think it was the hope that kept us in the game,

And I don’t believe that people’s luck are all the same.

It wasn’t my grace and it wasn’t my fear of death,

But I swear I heard you laughing as the dull crowds wept.

-Jackie

Border

Photo by Matheus Natan

The avalanches only buried one half of the truth,

The snowfall only hid away one side of you.

Bloodshot eyes stared at me from the furthest corner,

And I couldn’t escape when I crossed the border.

-Jackie

Spill

Photo by Tamara Martina

I have taken your oath of silence,

Crossed your name out of my will.

Honey, if I swear you to secrecy

Will you let the blue venom spill?

Will you tell them how I ached,

How I built these walls of steel?

Will you break just like I broke?

Will you be there when I heal?

-Jackie

Bait

Photo by Maria Eduarda Loura Magalhães

The snowflakes danced in the moonlight

And met their fate in the frosty dawn.

I circled your love until it crumbled

And the winter made me its final pawn.

The ground froze with the buried bodies.

I reached for warmth but it was too late.

My bones melted into the snow piles

And my heart laughed when it took the bait.

-Jackie

Longing

Photo by Taylen Lundequam

The scarlet flame licked our love bone dry

And the rainfall made it rot to its core.

Seven lifetimes wouldn’t be enough,

But every second I wish we could get more.

-Jackie

Black Candles

Photo by hicret

Take me back to the seaside

And bury me in the white sand.

Hide me away from the crowds,

Erase me from the dying land.

Take me to the dim graveyard,

Light black candles as I cry.

Paint me in some lively colors

While I watch the daylight die.

-Jackie

Glitch

Photo by Darina Belonogova

The rumors fall into place

And wicked truths fall on their faces.

I hide from thinking this over

But my luck is a bad omen.

Perfect mirages collapse

While I step in my own traps.

I beg for an off switch,

Hoping to make it through the glitch.

-Jackie

In Your Palace

Photo by Michel Caicedo

My neck breaks hands that once choked me

And dodges words that used to matter.

You sharpened your swords in the darkness,

Then blamed me when they finally shattered.

My back aches like long forgotten phrases,

But it never once goes along with the winds.

You closed deals in your crystal palace

Complaining about how the bad guy always wins.

-Jackie

Supernova

Photo by ἐμμανυελ

Those vague promises of a marble fountain at the finish line,

They melt in the July sun like ice cream palaces

And the rosy shades turn into looking glasses.

The reality tends to be harsher to those who denied it once.

I must wonder how you see yourself right now,

Out of the forests of lies you grew so cautiously.

You know that every soul you passed is now just lying in wait,

Using your full name only in vain on the weekends

And painting walls with your bad reputation.

Those broken oaths and porcelain egos only carried you so far.

Here we both stand as the heat rises in your chest

And your emerald shades turn into dying stars.

-Jackie

Crowded

Photo by Matheus Natan

These crowded streets and these crowded bars

Paint me yellow and bitter like dying stars.

These endless journeys and buzzing tales

Fill my stomach with acid until my eyes turn stale.

-Jackie