Mixed Media

 

I am not an origami:

I cannot be folded or molded into what you want me to be,

Like that beautifully worded love note from your boyfriend you’ve been waiting since fourth period for,

(Only to find out that it was a break up note).

I am not a piece of paper:

Torn easily or disintegrated by wet fingers,

Written on and formed into a crinkly ball just to be tossed into the trash can,

Like trash or the basketball that held your dream of ever playing in the NBA.

I am not stone:

Turned into dust and gravel by hammers,

Like the rocks of gravel that you kick with your 

well-worn out orange Converse that you’ve worn to every rock concert since 2004.

I am not glue:

I can’t always hold everything together,

Like your parents’ marriage, your older sister’s sanity, 

Or myself when I’m jilted.

But I am mixed media;

I am, and I am not everything.

______

Lori Starling is a writer living in Waianae, Hawaii. Their work has been featured in One Green Planet, ZOLA Magazine, Life in 10 Minutes Lit Magazine, The Daily Drunk, Beyond Queer Words: A Collection of Poetry and more. Their children’s book, Toby Wears a Tutu, debuts in January 2021. Find them here.