Gardenia by Jasmine Mans

“Billie, did you wear that Gardenia in your hair so you wouldn’t smell yourself rotting? How did that work for you? Because I’m 20 and I’m trying to find the easiest way to not look like I’ve been hurting. Can you help me? Whether I wither or kiss a night too still. The man I fell for got his heart broken by girls prettier than me. Girls prettier than me have broken my heart.”

Haiku: Death Awaits

Happy Valentine's Day

You may not know this,

But to me,

To girls like me, to us

It's just another capitalist holiday,

This things called Valentine's Day.

We don't need a calendar

To remember ourselves

Of the deepness of our feelings,

We don't need a manual,

To be in love

Regardless of our fears.

And girls like me

Wear their hearts proudly

Right at the corner of their souls

So that they fall easily

into the unselfish black hole.

Girls like me are fools!

And are rarely right,

But our eyes recognize honesty.

They blink when in front of commitment.

And our bodies are allergic to gravity.

We don't wear rings!

Our fingers weren't built for marriages.

These hands are art agents,

Made to hold pain,

Heal hurt,

Bring help,

Put bandages.

These hands are mothers.

And girls like me

Make beautiful daughters.

Daughters whose children

Will freely open up their wings

And love away, everyday!

Not just in Valentine's day.

Girls like me

Don't need February 14th,

Or anniversaries.

We celebrate our feelings

All the time.

We don't need dates.

And we love red,

But we hate roses.

We'd rather just bleed our words out 

And watch our lovers making

their promises proud.

Girls like me,

Write and Read poems everyday.

Hear and sing about love always!

But anyways,

Happy valentine's day.

On a Christmas Night

On a Christmas night

I want you here, as soft as Summer breeze

As right as a this will ever be.

On a Christmas night

I want you here, I want you home.

I love everything that lives. Everything that is.

Does that mean I'm broken?

Does it mean I'm dying?

Does it mean that I'm half asleep,

and the part of me that's awake

has its eyes closed?

Because I've dreaming about dreams,

I've been doubting my doubts.

Slamming doors,

Looking for whatever it is that I'm longing for.

On a Christmas night

You should let me know.

You should let me go.

On a Christmas night

I will wait for you again.

Knees on my feet, heart on my sleeve.

I will no longer be afraid.

For the last time.