princess

Cherry

By a.lesser.thing

Tue, 30 Apr 2013
  • 618 reads
4 comments
 

A mixture of
amniotic fluid and vernix,
a sliced umbilical cord and
lungs that are still developing.
Breathe, child; your hands do
not make up the size of even one of my fingers,
and this is how I would like to remember you.

Braided pigtails
laced in ribbon, and
a bright purple lunchbox.
A skirt, a unicorn shirt, a
butterfly and a bee. Asks
her father where her heart is,
and where she can find the key.

Luscious lips,
budding breasts,
a vagina that's broken
a bloody sweat. She doesn't
ask for happily-ever-afters, or
sit on the edge of your bed and
ask you to braid her hair anymore.

Prom night.
Silk sheets, a
soiled virginity
and a bleeding
hymen. When she
gets home late, you
ask her how it was, and
she smiles shakily. Heartbreakingly.

To think
you brought
a daughter into
this world, imagining
her as a princess, but
never constructing the castle.

Certificate 18
Poem
Unclassified

Comments

Submitted by The Walrus on
It's a beauty, A.l.t, and wonderfully constructed.

Submitted by sabital on
Your final stanza speaks volumes. Mark.

Submitted by littleditty on
strong write on big themes, you've made it also universal here, accessible for all re marking, rites of passage, the longtime growing of girl into womanhood, the experiences and feelings of that are rarely tackled so boldly, I'm thinking rarely tackled at all (esp well)in fact! modern life sometimes doesn't seem to have the ceremony about it, especially for girls, or much good storytelling either - this is a poem that will strike chords with many, for most if not all of us it's an uncomfortable time to say the very least! Powerful writing a.l.t..

 

Submitted by a.lesser.thing on
Thank you all! Started writing this with the 'prom night' stanza, then added in the birth segment as if constructing a backwards blueprint. It's a big thing to me, rites of passage, parenthood, the sharing, the creation, the passion, the expectation, etc. I say these things when, in reality, they're just topics of domesticated lifestyle, or society. I find each compartment fascinating, and struggling, in its own right. I like talking about female development, treatment, etc. a bit more often than others because I find it fascinating (even if it's downright horrible at some points). I also hope that, by extension of my writing, people can take something away from it and how they treat the people around them (esp. their daughters, sisters, aunts, wives, etc).