Why are women

Supposed to 

           cower

Before man’s expectations?

Why do we

          succumb

To their 

I want to drink apple cider with you 

Like it’s a fine wine, 

Make-believe adult, wrapped in your wool blanket, 

Counting the minutes until your parents return. 

Every leaf tells a heartbreaking story

Every leaf gets swept away

Every leaf crumples

Until it is nothing but dust

Is that my story?

Am I bound to be forgotten

Like that one leaf that flew in my hair

A dark expanse is all you see when you awaken.

"Hello?"

Three years ago,
You said forever. 
And I repeated it, 
It left a sweet taste in my mouth. 
Like sugar poured onto a lemon, 
Covering up the sour bitterness. 

Standing still thinking about what I lost 

Fire drill and you’re in the parking lot

Season changed and everything grows 

Do you remember my last name 

The world has evolved

From eternities of small change

To rapid movements

Clement days

Then

Brisk winds

Blowing ideas, seasons into the next

One moment, solidarity

Dissent, unity

“This is forever, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t want anything to change between us. Ever. We’ll always be together . . . right?”

Crunch crunch

Walking to school

with the cool

air nipping,

not yet biting,

at exposed skin

leaving it red to match

I trudge down the leaf-strewn road, hugging myself against the frigid bursts of wind tugging at my jacket. I hop over a puddle and glance up as the clock-tower strikes six. I should’ve been home by now.

What can I do to make this stay? 
To make all the moments, 
Where we were infinite last forever. 

To keep the good days for the future, 
And carry the bad along with my past. 

Our story always ends the same

No matter how many pages I turn

In the end

I’m the friend in need

And you’re the main character, always having to help me

I try to rip the pages out