Submissions by Amaryllis-Lu (Lawrence Michaels)

indeed,
we never did.
the void is dark Love -
darker than most, as one should expect,
where you confine yourself to a forgotten punishment.

the stitches of sanity become empty memorials.
a possibility of revolution held in the confines of symmetry
frees them. releases the inherent faults
of which you are no longer blind.
you were birthed by chasms of homemade sparks,
divulged by fresh logs (love: a coy fire)
before eating and sleeping became a chore.

you say our ancestry is undone,
but no – we didn't forget a higher purpose -...

she strung them knotted matter coils,
some sprinkled vintage flair
when Emma modeled entropy
in a honed state, self-aware.

queen of queens, infallible steel,
the wealth of the world willing to share,
she'd drown in blood 'fore pigs would win:
a testament to her care.

we'd walk the forest's winter moons.
braving the icy cold,
we'd murmur tales amongst her gales
about prophecies untold.

her resilience was masterful,
her primed endurance bold.
wisdom aplenty, spared unto others,
she lived to drown the mold.

yet...

a groaning wheel, you slink from bed sated,
and our strain aims squarely for the temple.
elevators scare us silly, migraines
are ground floors – the boxes have grown tenfold,
suddenly vagabonds, cancerous stalks.

you crave outlets for your needed musings,
whether gold plated or a pagan toy,
as the curtains are drawn this fine Thursday.
hobble downstairs in those faded blue shoes,
walk, grab the pitcher, and the tea's duller.

scream – pour it into my abandoned mug.
long years take less hikes to make, nowadays.
we danced nocturnes atop...

I come from a time of slow pretenders
When the cul-de-sac was a gathering ground.
The style, the unsung glamour -
I thought the nineties vibe would last forever,
But all I knew is that I was loved.

Back then, I was an extrovert, an explorer.
I'd be the first female something, one who sought out adventure.
“Someday,” I promised myself, “Someday I'll explore the forest.
I want to find the deer that leave tracks in my snow
Only to vanish away, like the shadow of a ghost.”

So I visited my old house the other day.
I'm an eighteen year old man...