Longing

It’s a ball of knotted string

Stuck under my ribcage.

Whenever I start to untangle it,

I break a sweat & forget

Why I even tried. 

It’s thirst after a tall glass

Of water, aching, curling

Around my neck like a vise. 

It’s the damp

Lingering in a spring day, 

Eyes that could hold an ocean

But that never look into mine. 

It’s wild, honeyed laughter that 

I chase around the corner, only to find

There was

Nothing 

There. 

star

NH

15 years old

More by star

  • The sun

    you're not

    leaving yet. no,

    i'll glue your limbs to the pavement,

    lower your waving hand,

    tell you

    something to make your eyes crinkle

    again.

    again,

    again,

    again.

  • Curl Cream

    I have been told

    To put curl cream in my hair

    Upside down, eyes 

    Straining against the ceiling light,

    Curls straining toward the tile floor,

    Bunching.

    I will smell

  • Dress

    I'm wearing the same dress I wore last year, on an evening that felt like moonlight even though the sky was still a milky purple-blue by the time we left, arms linked, laughter spilling over each other and turning the air fragrant, because back th