an ode to libras

i take pride in the fact i am not the same sign as my parents.
astrology is nothing but faith. i once prayed to god, begged him to

take me out of catholic school. it worked. i don’t dream in colors
but words. i don’t read in sentences but fragments.

the wind knocked me to the ground and i traced poems with the blood.
send smoke signals to the girl i borrowed personalities from when i

was fifteen. carved sonnets into my veins so i wouldn’t buy a plane
ticket to missouri. for breakfast, mango seeds splinter my tongue.

for lunch, crunch on pages of my journal. the paper a grave for
my lover, my body a burial ground. on halloween, i dress up like

my future. hand out candy like it’s love. at night, shed my past
like it’s a disease. avoid the mirror like it’s my mother.

in sleep, i remember the way you whispered fairytales
and all i heard was pain.

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.