When you chose Manic
Panic Raven,

a shade so dark
you couldn’t find it

at the bottom
of your purse

after you stole it
from CVS,

you convinced yourself that girls
who paint their mouths

the color of pavement
often get them broken on it.

And you believed it,
left the tube unopened,

only wore colors that had the word
translucent before their soft names.

And you didn’t feel
like yourself for a year,

but you did feel pretty
and worthy of a corsage

and a kiss, and Jackie—
who called you

a fat version of
your twin sister

scrawled a swastika
in black permanent marker

on your locker
anyway.

 

 

 

Kayla Wheeler is a New England-based writer and performer. She is a two-time NorthBEAST Underground Team Slam Champion and represented New Hampshire at the 2013 National Poetry Slam. Her work has appeared in The Bohemyth, Drunk in a Midnight Choir, The Legendary, and is forthcoming in the anthologies We Will Be Shelter (Write Bloody Publishing) and Again I Wait for This to Pull Apart (FreezeRay Press). Follow her @KaylaSlashHope

 

Amanda Mabel is a fashion and portrait photographer living in Sydney, Australia. Originally from Singapore, she moved to Perth in 2011, then Sydney in 2012. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts (Advanced) (Honours) at the University of Sydney. In her free time, she loves taking photographs, travelling to beautiful places, and drinking tea. She also happens to blog for Vogue Australia Spy Style. She maintains a website at www.amandamabel.com and can be found on:  Instagram  Facebook  LinkedIn  Pinterest  Tumblr  Bloglovin Flickr.