The Wattpad Filipino Block Party 2020

SamMadison's Poem

The Wattpad Filipino Block Party 2020

#TWFBP2020 #TWFBPYore

Paper Doll

She scoots closer to the window, pressing herself against the cold glass.
There is too little space between her skin and his,
and there isn't much she can do,
stuck in transit,
between the window and the stranger
who sits too close, but

she learned long ago how to fold
her arms over her chest;
how to keep
her legs folded shut;
how to strap each limb
around her ribcage,
over and over,
making new creases
on top of old ones
when she

Folds
into herself,
lining up
each corner,
folding them
in, and
in,
tinier,
and
tinier,
as she

folds
herself
close.

Paper Cuts

With trembling hands, she grips
her pen. She tries to think
of all the things she'd left
unsaid.

She inks her thoughts
in shaky strokes.
He will never see these words
and he will never see

the way her tears
mark every word;
the ink spreading out
where they fall.

He will never see
the creases between the words
where she folded the letter
to make a plane out of it.

She runs her hand along
its flimsy wings,
one last time,
as she opens the window.

For a moment, she hesitates,
because to let go
is to accept that he is
(gone).

She inhales,
exhales, and

releases

her hold on the paper plane,
along with everything
that she put into it

It flies, it glides, it soars
into the vast space of the
unknown, where it shall also

fall

She looks away before it lands
and her eyes latch on
the dash of red
on her fingertips.

It's a paper cut--a reminder that even fragile things can make us bleed.

A / N :

These poems, despite sharing a slightly similar imagery, are not connected to each other. They're meant to stand alone, but I decided to share them both. These were written two years apart, and they explore two vastly different themes.

I'm not as confident with my poetry as I am with my prose, but here's to stepping out of my comfort zone; and to wishing anyone who feels the same way finds the courage to do the same.