
POETRY
sugar blood and cherry guts
​
June Gormin
you taste strangely sweet:
of passionfruit and sage,
of sugar blood and cherry guts.
you smell like creation:
of gas and wet leaves,
like puppy breath and bloody fists.
you feel like orpheus:
and i can be eurydice.
I Know You’re Capable
​
Anonymous
​
I know you’re capable
I've seen you finish harder things
I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t believe you were able to
These things might sound
Strange
As they were not meant for you
No, these are words of
“Encouragement”
Words of
“Belief”
Spoken to me from my
many mentors
I have had
Throughout the years
Each one trying
To help push me past
My limits
So that I may grow
As a person
But
In actuality
Their words only
Made it that much more
Difficult with
Someone who you
Look up to
Expressing their belief of
Greatness
Greatness that a has always
Seemed so far away
Unattainable
Impossible to grasp
Even if I am
Standing on their shoulders
These Giants, who first showed me
This inner greatness
That they saw when they gazed upon my
Unshaped potential
Assuring me that they
Only showed me what
I was capable of
Who could possibly march
Towards the finish line
Head held high
When they are weighed down
By great expectations
Look At Me Like A Man
​
Anonymous
​
You tell me that my dad is going to have to watch boys when I get older
That I can’t even look at a boy until I’m thirty-six
So why are they all looking at me?
He pulls my hair
And pushes me off the monkey bars
But it's fine, right?
He just likes me
Right?
You tell me to sit with my legs crossed
Talk in a soft, agreeable tone
To not interrupt him while he’s speaking
It’s not ladylike.
You take me out of class
My skirt is too short
My shirt cuts too low
It distracts the boys
What about the class time I’m missing while changing clothes?
I’m going to school to be a doctor!
Maybe a scientist
Or an astronaut
What do you mean “I’m too pretty to be smart”
Someone help me please
No I wasn’t alone
No, I don’t remember what I was wearing
Why does it matter?
I am fully qualified for this position
I have extensive schooling and a great work ethic
Oh right
They don’t want someone like me
You get paid how much?
I get eighty-five percent of that
Why do I care?
I want better.
I deserve better.
I want to be looked at like a man.
I Wish I Was A Dog
​
Anonymous
​
​
I wish I was a dog,
So I wouldn't care what I eat
or how my clothes fit.
​
I wish I was a dog,
So I didn't need to disappear into the background
or retake pictures I cry over.
​
I wish I was a dog,
So my very best would always be enough
and I could take real risks.
​
I wish I was a dog,
Because I wouldn't need to change
and I could actually enjoy life.