during thunderstorms i think of death

music notes foaming at the mouth / my hands a creation of moonlight and trust / i poke the bruises on my skin / ask my wounds if they feel yet / silence echoes my name / mimics my wails / i beg the girl in my dreams for stardust / wake with cigarette ash on my chest / flick the sin from my skin as if god isn’t 24-hour surveillance / i avoid mirrors nowadays / feel threatened by their ability to reflect my past / i wrap guilt around my finger like it’s a promise ring / burn forgiveness into dust like it’s a disease / thunder strikes and i cry wolf / plead with lightning that i’m more than flesh / i’m human / not just bone / the next morning my tears evaporate into myth / sunlight strokes my indecision / welcomes me back into mortality

Annalisa Hansford (they/them) is an INFP, Libra, and freshman at Emerson College. Their work appears or is forthcoming in The Rising Phoenix Review, Poetic Sun, Emerge Literary Journal, The Hearth Magazine, and Blue Marble Review. In their free time, they enjoy listening to indie music, rubbing their dog’s belly, and eating vegan ice cream.