I was once an unbroken piece of glass.
But now my veins are made of iron rods.
I remember when I would catch and play the light
In sweeping waves like the sea
Gently swaying with her loving coast.
Sunbeams illuminated my flesh
In red, orange, pink,
And caught on the waves
In blue, purple, and black.
Life is not kind to glass.
I shattered on the beach
I was slammed against the rocks.
Red, orange, pink,
Blood on the ground,
Ran thick through the sand.
Blue, purple, and black
Bruises stained the driftwood,
Relentless waves eroding the coast.
When I was ready to pick up the pieces
Not even I could remember how I used to be.
The blood on the shore
Became blood on my fingers
As the shards of my heart were wired back together.
The bruises in the wood
Became aches in my joints
As I forced the bones of my body into some kind of life.
Some parts of the old me just didn’t fit anymore
And my reconstructed self
Could barely call the unbroken me a cousin.
The colors are all mixed up now
Red, black, pink,
Blue, purple, and orange.
My iron veins hold me rigid
Against the play of the light and the waves.
Sometimes I can still catch a beam to throw onto the floor,
And there I can see a glimpse of how things used to be.
Published September 23, 2021
Written by Cassidy Polamares ~ Edited by Emily Antoney Jeromeous, Deeba Mehr ~ Graphics created by Tanya Gu
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