the face in the mirror wavers,
unable to hold your gaze
while you catalog every flaw
and search for minute imperfections
(I told you there are none to find)
you see the shadows when light is all that pours from your veins,
all the reasons you matter safely stored in a cage
(the spark in your heart illuminates the dark)
your eyes see distortion,
a tangled mess of proportions,
but your soul knows that the sun lives beneath your skin,
a shimmering magic that radiates within
(and I’ll remind you every day, until your mind knows too)
Art by Rosanna Jones
Words by Ashley Jane
scarlet fever crashing through blue veins,
ephemeral nights now crimson stained
with ruby roses and cherry leather cuffs
(the sting is a drug but it’s never enough)
and she searches for answers in the shadows,
stop motion stutter and start again,
gently tracing the map on her skin
(can you follow the path of her scars)
there’s a taste of darkness in her mercurial heart
she’s one cut away from falling apart
Words by Ashley Jane
Art by Harumi Hironaka
