not that
she has ever been
young,
sophie was born
into the wisdom
of many lives.

sophie says
she sighs
because
she is in love,

has been
for a long time.

sweet sophie,
she never had
a choice.
when the walls of her castle
fell,
she did not.

sophie
is not afraid
of anything.
not
the darkness
taking over
nor
the heat
from his heart
of fire.

she says
fear,
like love,
is something
we all
must face
standing
on our own
two feet.

sophie knows
when to bellow
a flame
and
when
to get
the bucket.

she can
move the mountains
for a better view.

sophie says,
what no one
knows:
the best place
to sit
is inside
a secret garden,
growing with
the flowers
in peace.

we were both
scared

now
that i think about it
it was
kind of
funny

i’ve been listening
so much
to rap music
and
watching
the wire
in marathon
so please
excuse me
when i explain it
as
what it must feel like
to get got

you apologized
i said it was okay

i caught you once
from
the window below
you blew
that smokey blow
kissing the sky
two times
in a row
i respected that

it made me think
you were
mad cool
which is
kind of
funny
too

i know
you walk with heavy feet
light-headed
neighbor upstairs

long haired laura
with
a basket on her bike
and
two cats in her front window

neither of which
seem very
funny
at all

you had something in your teeth

a small green leaf
left behind
by a club house sandwich

i didn’t want to tell you

when i chuckled to myself
you joked
i’m not allowed to chuckle
without permission
leading me
to chuckle
again

i reached
into my jacket’s right pocket
expecting to find bus fare
instead finding
a note
folded in four

i didn’t mention my discovery

while you rummaged through cards
in search of your monthly pass
i unfolded the paper
in the safety of my pocket
pulling it out
just enough
to glance down

two words
emboldened in red marker
“tell him”

i looked around
no one
no one
but
you and i
i chuckled again
you stopped walking
“okay, what?!”
you demanded to know
i obliged

“you have something in your teeth”

upon the first beat of silence
you plucked a toothpick
out the corner post
as we stepped off the bridge

to our bewilderment
the bridge collapsed
into the pool of water below
i hadn’t noticed
before

we had crossed over
leaving no path

no one could find us now

i turned
to capture one last glimpse
of our abyss

to my surprise
i saw a shadow
on the other side

the lone outline of a man’s arm
stretched above his head
his hand waving
goodbye

i awoke
startled
to the sound of construction
chuckling to myself
before rolling over
falling back
into the abyss

what are you hiding
under that silk scarf
sweetheart?

enough to make the man mad.
enough to swing on the stars until sunlight.

sherbourne station;
the pit in my stomach calls me out
before the operator can finish her sentence.

laid out
your finest china
called
all the girls
for tea

they noticed
even the gold spoons

an arrangement
so tasteful
in an afternoon
filled
with soft yellow light

just listen to them coo

oh the boys never notice
the lighting
never notice
the gold plating
the boys can’t see
past the tip of their nose

but boy
how those boys feel their way in the dark

everything
from
clouds
to
coral reef.

i believe in magic.

secretly,
on my sixteenth birthday
i half expected to turn into a
teenage witch.
not so secretly,
i almost did.

i’ve learned many lessons
the hard way
on purpose.

i think real women are a dying breed,
so i always try to be a gentleman.

when in doubt,
i dance it out.

i check my horoscope everyday
out of habit,
and because
i am in awe of the stars.

i like my peanut butter to jelly
50 : 50.

i respect the balance.

i love to rip the band-aid,
the bubbling water,
and the wrapping paper on christmas morning.

i try to live bold as love
and spend most saturday mornings in electric ladyland.

i’d sooner forget than forgive.

my heart is parked in exit 202B: imagination station.

the first boy i fell in love with did not love me back.
the last boy i fell in love with loved me too much.

i’ve learned to accept
the things i do not know,
the things i cannot change,
the things i should not meddle with.

i often need to take a moment
just to revel inside of it
alone in bliss.

if you cracked my soul open
like an egg,
vampire weekend’s music
would come pouring out.

when i grow up i want to be a disney princess.

i want to make little girls smile;
and dance,
and sing,
because that is what is important in life.

freedom
is twirling
under the street lights
in the rain.

i am a girl
with big brown eyes
and curly brown hair
who is in love with the world
as her own.

i travel light.
i crunch.
i spark.

everything i touch
is electric,
everything i see
i dig.