Freya Carter

inspired by an extract from Frankenstein

I watched the sun
fall on her body
her cheeks still shiny
with the tears she had cried.
That
was the last life she showed.

The rope around her neck
was stopping her from leaving
in the slightest form of peace.

Instead she was chained,
swinging limply,
to Hell on Earth.

I want to go back to the tyre swing days
where the sun would go down when we said.
I want to go back to the plastic days
where happiness could be found in the adverts for shoes
with secrets in the sole
You handed me the can and
said ‘drink and remember

or thirst and ripen with me’

Fuzzy teeth from sour sweets
and grass stains on our hearts

Tell the royal kings and queens
we wild kids run these parts.

spinning wheels
forests
cement roads
raised hands that planned our lives for us
Sleeping Beauty rode a bike once
before crashing
on the sofa
feigning slumber
for the sake of overdue Maths homework

My love for you is clouded
By laughter
And midnight
And balloons.

Together we will fly
And if we end up too close to the sun
We will catch each other
And fall as one body
We are no tale of Icarus:

He, who flew alone
And didn’t stop
To hold hands
Or eat jelly
Or admire the light from afar.