When we were invincible,

We thought honeysuckles
would turn us golden like lemonade, and
we could drink from the caverns in our hands or the grooves of our fingers,

Velveteen tears of distilled youth soaked through Geometric bikini tops as candy pink flamingos float be- neath
Spidery thighs. We swam after school,

back when the weather was wind
from the ocean and the salt water cut our lips so they bled into melted ice cream cones
held in our plastic adolescence grip.

We drove with seatbelts wrapped around necks through metallic gravel roads as tires became balloons so we could float through high school hallways.

We would pretend it didn’t burn when we tried to steal the sun.
We would pretend not to choke on diamonds
carelessly spit in into our mouths.

We cut ourselves on the sharp end of the stars
Hung ourselves from the hair ties left on bedroom floors 

 

Comments

michaela flores

this is a poem about the fragility of youth and how adolescent issues are often dangerously trivialized, also explores the theme of societal standards in gril hood. 

Additional Resources

Get AI Feedback on your poem

Interested in feedback on your poem? Try our AI Feedback tool.
 

 

If You Need Support

If you ever need help or support, we trust CrisisTextline.org for people dealing with depression. Text HOME to 741741