| WORK OF ART by Valerie Patrick Work of ArtHold my face like the Portland Vase Trace the pictures on my cheekbones Gaze into my eyes like the Mona Lisa Appreciate every stroke of color Caress my body like the statue of Venus Admire the flaws molded in marble Explore my mind like the Louvre But, please, be careful Don’t mind the cracks or the dust The smudges or the rust And I’ll send my love in a Shakespearean letter Each kiss, a comma, each period, a breath. But the heart lives onGoodbye to my small-town dream Goodbye to the anniversaries Goodbye to the inside jokes Goodbye to the hopes we would hold Goodbye to the notes Goodbye to kisses on the nose Goodbye to the memories we’ll never live Goodbye to all of our future kids Goodbye to the road trips Goodbye to the gifts Goodbye to your blue eyes Goodbye to the star-watching nights Goodbye to “never letting go” Goodbye to “never growing old” Goodbye to our collective laughter Goodbye to our happily ever after Goodbye to kitchen dancing Goodbye to understanding Goodbye to “I love you most” Goodbye to walking the coast Goodbye to the stories we could tell Goodbye to knowing each other well Goodbye to the secrets we knew Goodbye to me and you. My Veins Are Gasoline LinesMy veins are gasoline lines Your lips like matches against my skin One brush was more than enough To set fire to what once had been November 26, 2018 at 10:35pmI feel hollowed out Can you see right through me? I want to stare at eggshell walls Love isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be To be is to exist And to exist is exhausting I lift the weights at the corners of my mouth If I’m cold to the touch, that’s just my heart frosting Let me float down this river That’s heading for the ocean I’ll ride out these waves That some call emotions The balloons of my laughter are deflating The party is over It’s time for everyone to go home My mind’s a restless rover My eyes have turned to glass The month’s just pass by My body’s turning to marble At least statues can’t cry There’s fight, there’s flight, there’s freeze I don’t want the responsibility I’ll cower in my corner and just wait it out Don’t put the attention on me My heart’s full of hospital beds But by now they’re all empty So, I’ll wander these halls alone And wonder who’s going to fix me RecoveryThe day I realized I was out of my depression Was the day I wanted to wear dresses again And dance in a field of sunflowers With puppies I wanted to learn gymnastics And knit a blanket for my friends My days seemed clearer My memory got better Even the sun seemed brighter My favorite color turned into yellow I wanted to get bangs And do something I’ve never done I kept my bedroom door open My curtains pulled back And added more lights to the wall I wanted a fuller journal And a thicker scrapbook My skin felt cleaner And my smile wider My laugh became louder And my hair lighter I wanted to organize And clean my bedside table I wanted to read my whole stack And write the stories I filed away I wanted spring But was content with winter And most importantly I didn’t want you anymore. About the Author:Valerie Patrick is a student and aspiring author from Ohio. She is currently studying English and Marketing at Kent State University in hopes of working at publishing house in New York. |