raindrops pool into the sidewalk cracks

i. they say time heals all wounds,

but this is false.

what they mean is that time distracts you from the pain.

ii. yesterday there was a thunderstorm:

rain,

slamming against my windowsill,

pooling in the cracks in the cement.

sometimes

it rains so much that i forget

what the sun looks like.

iii. when i was a little girl,

i hung a dream-catcher by my bed

and i thought it was magic.

when i got older

you told me magic wasn't real.

iv. i stay up late

& surrender to the sky.

v. i used to dress up and pretend

to be a princess,

an escape from my dreary life.

you told me

i was already a princess to you.

it began to snow and i wore

a crown of snowflakes and

danced with you around the yard.

vi. you were bleeding and trying

to pretend you were okay.

vii. yesterday i got up early

to watch the sunrise & a bird

was chirping in a tree.

i curled up underneath a blanket

to listen to the sparrow sing.

it reminded me of the way

you used to sing.

viii. they say that loving a person

will make them more inclined to live,

but this is false.

what they mean is that

loving a person will make them less

willing to disappoint you.

ix. i stand outside and let the rain

wash over my face.