Alis Volat Propriis
by Joelle Lamaie
Filtered sun
runs
down
your spine in line with
the symmetry of the streets.
The blanched brick walls dissolve when
your idiosyncrasies synchronize, and
gravity melts when the breeze collides
with your skin. The sky dips
at the upturn of your lips.
Did Cassiopeia fall envious when you
came into this world with stars
painted across your dark shoulders?
Was Olympus in chaos when the
lightning that sparks at your fingertips
grew more electrifying than Zeus himself?
Or did it
slip
into calm
as the oceans crashed against your feet
and the gold was drained
from the mountains to strive for the chance
that it might rest against your skin
and absorb traces
of
your light.
Waltz for the Broken
by Joelle Lamaie
And how did
we get here,
the crashing
of words like
clockwork with-
in a glass
birdcage? And
our feet in-
tertwine in
this twisted
waltz we have
made our home.
Bone on bone
colliding,
dissonant
your voice in
my ear. Still,
music plays
on while Cin-
derella
flees at the
toll of mid-
night. Your toll
tonight is
so much high-
er than I
could ever
pay. At the
cost of my
soul you would
see the stars
through a sha-
ttered tele-
scope. My hope
for you is
that you love
without de-
stroying, that
your next dance
is a waltz
full of har-
mony, peace.
That the stars
emerge to
trade partners
with you, and
you twirl in
their arms like
a bird set
free from the
cage inside
your own heart.
I don’t know
how we got
here, but I
know our dim-
inuen-
do will not
be gentle.