Vanilla buttercream frosting on plain white cake
Effortless assimilation
Into a clothesline of solid colored cardigans
Do your narrow offwhite sneakers fit in their 4x4 space,
Or is it just a clean-cut attempt at rebellion,
With no desperate disciples ripping their fishnets in pursuit
Heavy crepe cardstock
Uncaptioned acquiesced gratitude
For acknowledging the body they could have walked through
That glares in defense to keep the recommended six feet
Between her and a series of bad ideas
Her mother would never approve of
I’m almost 20,
Without the experience of tightroping a curb,
Falling through deeper puddles
Of pristine bathroom stalls
Why is everything so funny
After he spilled the inhibition out of you?
Wet neon plastic,
Mouths lined in Crayola permanent marker
I tested out of limits others break to discover themselves,
Now contemplating the jump from the tower
Before I cut my hair too short
Before it becomes too dangerous,
The inherent gold streaks
With a vibrancy of misplaced youth,
Any remaining brightness halfway spent
On fractured screens passing time
That would otherwise be a future
Why won’t my knees just give?
Sterling silver dye,
Steel rib cages edged in lace
Prod sharp edges into formless sketches,
Sliding fingers through belt loops,
Sandpaper skin on polished wood floors
Your hypotheticals made my realities cry
Because we both know what I could do
If I wanted the blue black smudges perpetually
To signify nothing but my educated delinquency,
A sudden premeditated deviation
From the unspoken plan,
Pouty lips and pretty eyes that don’t smile anymore
Puffing turmeric exhaust
Over all-American skylines
I get too reckless
With crystal bottles waiting downstairs,
Plates that need to be cleaned,
Rating the companionship of two pariahs -
What click will make the inevitable
Could forgetting my name by the morning
Make those stretchmarks sunken in thighs
Less egregious to pinching claws
That like to feast alone at night
I seriously doubt it
But it’s not like I’m going anywhere