break the crayons in two and watch them 

roll off the table. scratch the words collaged from 

mystery novels and princess movies. 

genius portrayed in the girl from space, 

i was analytically amazing. 

we’d tied our braids together on the roller rink, 

our livelihoods fading into the background 

quicker than we knew. take my laces and hang them up. 

grate the mulch chips against my knees, 

i’ll get up, i swear. 

grass stains and 

hidden flags paint the skies orange. 

my feet firm on the swing seat, i fly. i soar. 

comb through my multitudes of memories, 

you’ll find out i was an enigma, 

born to architect worlds beyond my grasp. 

the universe never revolved around me, but i burned bright 

long after the stars had died out. 

something victorious in the future, 

something of freedom, something of longing.

i jumped the fence time after time. 

resistance was only a word, 

the sound of the breaking branches behind me.

call it kismet, call it karma. i slipped off the monkey bars 

time and time again. i choked on dust, scribbled on the walls, 

screamed like a dying fire. childhoods shattered 

against stone walls, too soon, too fast.

but buried beneath the brush, 

i learned to bleed bravery, channel chaos.

i learned to fight fire with fantasy, pain with passion. 

the truth is, i thought i was brilliant. 

sometimes i think i still am.