shattering

"Thinking can hurt your chances, and I intend to last." - The Handmaid's Tale.

Agreed.

Coloring

Paint me in white
white like the snow
pure, they say
untouched
of course

and I’ll paint me in red, red ribbons
like nail polish
Snow White’s lips
there’s that white again
white like innocence
like youth
a clean sheet of paper
white like flower petals
strewn on the floor

but the thing about white is
it doesn’t stay pure
I trampled the petals
I scribbled on the page
across Snow White’s lovely face, I
smeared
the red from my drying fingertips

red like war paint
like lust
like anger and shame and desire
heating my face
marking me
I can’t hide now

I paint me in red
as camouflage
as a signal flare

--

I'm scratching the skin off my arm.

Love always,
molly