FIFTEEN, by Rachel E

The blushing crows
Land on my clothes.
They tease my ears
With regrets and fears.

So I suppose
This is how my life goes.

Purples, blues, greens, yellows…
It’s something that I never chose.

My eyes squeeze shut.
Another cut.

I mend and stitch
The holes and splits–
The ones I etched
And the ones you stretched.

Six hundred pounds of flesh
Resting upon my chest.
It’s harder to catch my breath.
I hope this is not my death.

The worms withdraw
While the vultures claw
And begin to gnaw
At my limbs of straw

My skin bursts open
To release words unspoken.

Down the street
Tires scream
Headlights creep.
A young teen
Wants to sleep.

Eyes squeezed shut.

~Fifteen, by Rachel E
“This poem is about loneliness, death, abuse, self-harm, rape, homophobia, and being 15 years old. The speaker is a scarecrow, witnessing everything and suffering pain while being helpless to change what is happening around it. The scarecrow tries to close its eyes trying to block out, brace for, or forget the pain.”