Even

Photo by Plato Terentev

The melody crawled into my ears and chest.

I did not know the song, but you were obsessed.

My feet carried me as the music was playing,

And your words bled me dry while I was praying.

You hummed venom into my nervous system.

Neon filled my pupils and dripped down the pistol.

The melody turned me into your final demon.

I robbed you of life as you robbed me of feeling.

-Jackie

Grasping

Photo by Delilah Rayma

The wet fingers tighten around my ankles,

And I grasp for air but it fails to fill my lungs.

My blood runs colder than the mighty ocean,

My secrets start spilling out of the open trunk.

-Jackie

My Tomorrows

Photo by Resarse F

Spellbinding moments turn into graveyards,

Turn into castles,

Turn into stones.

Why is this story still going backwards?

Did I lose hope?

Did I end up alone?

I loved and I lost you in the deep waters.

The hills echoed screams,

But not the sorrow.

If I had one piece of soul to barter,

I would give it up.

Take all my tomorrows.

-Jackie

Nail In A Coffin

Photo by Matheus Natan

You left dirty marks on my only altar,

You left thirty scars on my sinking trust.

Each corner of my church smells like regret,

Each nail in my coffin tastes like rust.

-Jackie

For The Hopeless

Photo by Swapnil Sharma

Put the animal in a cage

and put your pulsating rage in my pocket.

I cannot escape the heatwaves,

but I can empty my eye sockets.

Put the cynic in a cathedral

and play ethereal songs on loop.

We are really not making strides,

we are just stuck on an endless hoop.

-Jackie

Killing Dart

Photo by Leonid Danilov

When I knew there was no light left in my windows

And there was no steel left in my sinking heart,

I let the streets know the name of my only traitor.

Not even the wind could catch that killing dart.

-Jackie

Good Times

Photo by Alexander Zvir

The darkest storms pass

and the nicest words rot

and I wish things would last

when my stomach’s in knots.

The good times spill

and the bad days fade

and I outsmart my will

but never outrun my fate.

-Jackie

Little Flowers

Photo by ALTEREDSNAPS

Will they write your initials on my headstone

or will it be the other way around?

Will they cite me as your cause of death

or will they lay me in the solid ground?

Will the little flowers stay fresh and green

or will they crumble out of pure spite?

The jewels you gave me are worthless.

They turn to ashes when brought into the light.

-Jackie

Dancing On Your Grave

Photo by Ahmed akacha

One day The Cure records won’t remind me of your bruises

Or the glaring violence you masked as some faultless flaws.

I get teary-eyed thinking about getting back my music

And cleaning out the infected thoughts and putrid scars.

-Jackie

Up My Sleeve

Photo by Betül Balcı

The cards I keep up my sleeve are the four aces,

But being a natural could not save my honest face.

Here I lay, here I lie, here I suffer from exhaustion.

Every fairytale warrants a sheer level of caution.

-Jackie