By Alexis Castrogiovanni
You’re bleeding, and something’s burning on the stove
She’s got something that glows in the dark
Carrie, you’ve never looked more beautiful
Than when you sang out the word ‘sorry’
On that stage from the pit of your stomach
Some words are not born of tongues and teeth
A queen shining in someone else’s blood
You are the omega and the alpha,
Singing delta in the fluorescent light
You couldn’t have known the way the world turns to look
Each time a girl grows old
She’s sucking back smoke and semen
Like a vacuum by the time she’s twenty
When you reach that final mile
It’s nothing but body fluids and breast milk
Forget your finery at home
Leave your dresses on the tiles in the bathroom
In front of the mirror you once called friend
Fill the bathtubs with perfume and flower petals
There is nothing in this world for the glory-filled
For the gory child who grows into a vessel to float on the top of the water
Until there’s nothing left to do but to fill her with time and with salt
And everything before this was an instrumental track
Was a losing battle
Though you returned each night unscathed
Until the moment your legs were no help
Crossed or otherwise
Clean your face, or leave the stains Carrie
We won’t cry.
We are like you.
And small broken bird,
Gentle gleaming gem,
You are no euphemism
You can tell the poets to fuck themselves for the fallacy
The truth is scary,
But Carrie,
You can’t wear that white gown like you don’t know the difference
Between a virgin and a bride.
In some doorways, in some cities
In countries you’ve never been to,
You can see the mourning family
Dresses all in white