boys with bird names cant actually fly. by DearPoetry, literature
Literature
boys with bird names cant actually fly.
i fill my lungs with blackberries
& nicotine because it is the only way
I can stomach the taste.
a phoenix told me once
that he could teach me
how to burn properly,
as if scolding
had preferences
[ like the intercostal
spaces of a ribcaged
embrace. ]
he fell in love
with my words
first,
before he knew
the height of my
cheekbones
or the annoying
sound of my laugh.
he said he could count
all my scars on one hand-
even the ones that wake me
at 3 am with an itch i swear
begs me to rip them open
again.
& i told him he could keep
his pretty words and fiery fingers
creatively away from me.
i am tired of smelling of hell
& as