“One-Way Song”
Not the flyers brightly placed, suspiciously
conspicuous for all to observe. Not her eyes
smeared with shadow, base –
faint hues of a rainbow
wanting to burst. Not the blood from the swing they’d punch
as he skirted by, not the horizontal cuts she’d draw
across her pale white wrists. Not the words
on his wall, scribbles on a pink
high school bathroom stall, nor
the terror their voices promised. Not the chanting
threats nor preacher’s call, not the burning
house or the tortured pet. Not the scorning
words at a class play, nor the spitting
as she boldly smirked, then walked away.
Only the thoughts that keep
the difference strong, the days
long, the love wrong. Only
the selfish heart that sings
in a straight,
one-way song.
-Elizabeth Tettleton
