Ask me again how
I know about love & wings
& other things no

person should ever
know. Find the words & spill them,
dice from your hand or

maybe the hands of
Fate. Tell me again about
that day before I

really knew you &
that smile, a permanent
mark on my heart; a

scar refusing to
heal. Because now, I know
how sugary sweet

it felt to be loved
by your candy-coated soul.
Sometimes, I forget

how spindles of spun
sugar grow thin & weak, how
tangled knots never

do knit people back
together once unraveled.
Maybe that’s for the best.

To melt means more when
you fall in love than when you’re
reduced to simple

syrups. But I guess
we never landed in
love. You & me both

fell out of lives we
tried to build from nougat nests
and neverlasting

fruit-flavored striped things,
meant to hold more than just words
tattooed between two.

Sure our lips waxed &
waned with each full moon. And we
said things that were most

likely true. But you
broke me into those bite-sized
pieces, perfect for

birds, but never for
bees. You see, that’s how I know
about wings caught in

webs, those gummy shapes
pressed to teeth & tongue, to take
whatever might be

left of their sweetness.
And all that remains is you
& that liquified

laugh, dripping down drain
pipes, waiting to drown
whoever might know.

 

 

 

 

Kayla King is a writer of both fiction and poetry. With a soul covered in a softcover shell, she is a paperback person with words and stories inside. Kayla King is a Staff Reviewer and the Blog Manager at Young Adult Books Central. She graduated from Buffalo State College with a B.A. in Writing. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Fiction from Southern New Hampshire University. You can find her website and blog at kaylamaeking.wix.com/kayla-king-books.

 

Cassoday Harder is a twenty-year-old photographer inspired by youth, femininity, and summer. View more of her work on Flickr or visit her website.