What’s it like to be so beautiful?
It still rings in my ears
It shouldn’t scare me
And yet I hear it
In a stranger’s voice
In a not-so-strange place
And it shouldn’t scare me
This old, friendly-meaning man
Who I could outrun
Turn my back on
But you never turn
You should see your enemy
He shouldn’t be mine
And I shouldn’t be scared
And yet as he reaches
To hug his “beautiful stranger”
His milky white eyes
Focusing slightly on my curves
His hand, still holding his cane,
Reaching up, towards me
I feel the bile in my throat
The tightness in my chest
He means me no harm
He could do me no harm
But there is little comfort
As he gets close me
Assuring me, one hug,
And he’ll go away
One hug and it’ll all be over.
About the Creator
Jasmine Jyn
Writer, memoirist, citylover, traveler, foodie
Keep reading
More stories from writers in Poets and other communities.
📢 Raise Your Voice Thread: 04/25/2024
Our “Raise Your Voice Threads” are hosted every other Thursday at 12PM ET to offer creators more avenues to uncover exceptional stories on Vocal. As we are continuously searching for fresh creators and inspiring stories, this thread provides an opportunity to exchange and discuss the stories that have moved and motivated us on Vocal.
By Raise Your Voice by Vocalabout 21 hours ago in Resources
Reaching Out
I promise her. I'd do anything for her. She's my mom. Even as Lanie and Deanna are flying home, Mom is scrappy fighting dying. She lays too still in that too-big bed with all the toasty white hospital blankets, in the south tower, at the broad end of a long slow-turning corner that delivers me again to her private room with the view she can't see through, with the beeping that tells us nothing new, and all these ice chips she can't swallow, and a flood of well-intentioned nurses who cannot do a damned thing all the same.
By Christy Munson4 days ago in Fiction
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.