Aisthesis

1

Volume 12, 2021

Poems of Feminine HealingPoems of Feminine Healing
By: Emily McLaughlin

Former Playmates 

Old dolls in the basement
Not played with since days of preteen shame 
Box reopened 
On an unexpected day in October 
Dusty and bruised
Doubtful and ashamed
Too big and too small
Too smart but too dumb 
A sex doll crept into the toy box
The Barbies watched and learned 
How to be a version of better they’ll never be 

Snow in October 

Childhood should fade away 
Like soft December snowfalls 
Which slowly cover autumn grass 
Sometimes it’s ripped away 
Like a blizzard in October  
But the snow never stops 
It continues to come 
Day after day 
Suffocating the life below it 
Until we realize  
We’ll never see flowers again

Waves 

They come through like waves
Terrible, ugly waves 
Which remind me of the pain you’ve caused 
The times I’ve been hurt 
The times I was disposable 
Large waves on a cold, dirty beach 
It used to be filled with bright sand, happy people 
Now it’s just me 
Me and the waves

Your Razors

You cut me until I bled  
And then ask me for comfort  
Because now your razors are ruined