DREAMS I WANT OR NEED OR BOTH BELLA AGARWAL DESERT MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL every night, i weep until my eyes swell shut, my dreams taking my body to a place above the diaphanous clouds,
i transcend to a place where no one else goes, a place where i can be myself.
here, i catch snowflakes on my tongue, lollipops dissolving in my mouth, sugary sweet syrup spilling from my lips, dribbling down my chin, and my skin feels strange to wear, almost as if i am dawning the body of another. above me, my mind stains sticky colors onto a pure canvas, creating vivid images of my dreams and desires and passions, weaving visions of the life i want for myself. the kaleidoscopic mess melts and pirouettes into a galaxy. my senses are brought to their knees by a billowing nebula as my heart’s violent staccato crescendos, threatening to create a supernova. my hands, clutching paintbrushes tightly with milky knuckles, are stretched towards the shimmering stars, and my fingertips trace the rigid outlines of universes, their sharp edges causing blood to blossom on my scarred palms. picturesque stars twirling around my fingers form glistening rings. moons gently dust my head with lustrous powder, silver flakes intertwine with strands of my coarse hair like metallic ribbons. glimmering constellations waltz with each other, dripping with fire, singing off-key odes to a honeyed fantasy of a life that could
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st. louis youth arts journal
