SPEAK

She lost her voice

in her early mid-teens

to the teenage beauty queens

who made her feel

like

nothing.

N-O-T-H-I-N-G

too easily

would rhyme and ring,

in simple tunes,

beauty queens would sing.

If they only knew

how it would bleed

from glass above her bathroom sink.

Fading slowly,

like a star

she lights her candles

in glowing glass jars,

praying that her silver scars

will be erased,

now.

There’s a calendar on her wall.

It’s been changed

through seven sunny Falls.

Now.

At nearly twenty-three

she speaks about vulnerability

unguarded

bohemian

tranquility.

She found her voice

in reflection by choice,

with glowing glass jars

singing

SERENITY.

She found her voice

thanks to those teenage beauty queens

who made her feel

like

speaking.