I don’t have to touch

to know how you feel––

through my words,

through stolen glances and shared meals

still, I touch you somehow.

for touch is only a tool,

no hands, no lips, no skin on skin

words run deeper than any touch could give

still, I touch you somehow.

I don’t have to touch

to know the deepest parts of you,

to memorize your sighs, your cries, your laughs.

And though I remain

without ...

My feet moved forward, no control––Excitement. Fear. Adrenaline.

A forest of poppies is forbidden, yet here I was, inching my way in.

Concealed by a red cloak, I remained hidden.

Out of sight, out of mind like I’d never been real at all.

No one cared––no shouts, no screams, no searching for me.

I was unseen.

Perhaps it was what I needed.

Maybe I’m a poppy too, I thought.

Never touched, loved...

The silence that hovered in the frozen air was stifling, as it was my only reminder at how alone I had just become in the middle of nowhere. It was the type of silence that had me begging for screams, but they hadn’t come nor would they. 

Fifty smuggled passengers died––all except me.

The aircraft was currently stuck on a block of ice, half sunk beneath in the water while its captain was slumped...

It had been raining that day when I decided to go for a run. It's what I always did when I was feeling lost and alone, riddled with anxiety, and today was no different than any I had before when I talked to my mother.

At this point, running seems to be my only escape from her, yet, now I feel as if my running habits are tainted because of it. My anxiety skyrockets the second her ringtone blares o...

It was a trick. They told me that I had access to this ship after winning that bet, yet here I am, waiting on the docks like a caged animal. A pacing tiger eager to jump aboard with an invalid ticket as I try to find a way around it. I need to get back home and I’m stuck in this filthy waterfront town that smells like fish and death. Maybe I can pretend to be a part of the crew.

Chatter fills the ...

My steps remain calm and calculated as I inch closer to the TSA agents who are lazily gliding their metal wands up and down the bodies of those eager to board their flights. Yet, none of them know who stands behind them, blending in as if I was any other person.

Even after all these years, the adrenaline of running never truly fades as the walls of my chest feel as if they could explode from the...

“Mom”

How do I describe it?

Like waves in an ocean

Unpredictable and fierce from within

Smashing over rocks with a current so strong,

it pulls you farther in

Down, down, down

You feel like you’re drowning

Did I fail?

You ask yourself

Where did I go wrong?

The waves are so strong,

you forget who you are

and what you used to be––

calm, quiet, and not mom

But you see, I love the chaos of the ...

Sometimes I feel lost

But I don’t want to be found

Because if I’m found

You’ll know what I’ve really gone through

Being lost is my comfort zone

And I don’t want to leave

So I stay

I build my walls

You see, it’s all I know...

Maybe I’m over thinking

Maybe it was just me that felt the chemistry between us

or the way you looked at me

or the way you hugged me

Maybe you were just being a kind person when you hugged me that day

But here’s the thing, kind people are uncommon

So maybe it wasn’t just me...