Hot Pot Magazine

By Cove Johnson Rabidoux

dreams kept like fireflies guarded by rib cages/flickering lights drowning in shade/spirits that fly
high high away/soar through the endless afternoon sky/the golden universe unspools like a
thread from a bobbin/watch as we climb to the top structure/cradle the dancing stars in our
little girl hands/sun-faded dresses crystallized with sugar/bodies that dance in the shimmering
rain/the soft breeze of innocence tousles our curls/the scent of wildflowers/a fragrant reminder
of summer/boots that stomp stomp through puddles/you can conquer the world/laughter like
music/the sound of joy/lipstick dripping from fruit-speckled popsicles/playing at being
grown/tangled hair caught between branches/honeyed wishes scattered across cheeks/glowing
in chocolate eyes/the sweet taste of hope on the tip of your tongue/lives contained in diaries
bursting at the seams/clocks that symbolize forever/their arms forever snared in eternity's
grasp/the steady beat of hearts that sing in rhythm/deep pink cheeks, just like on TV/you want to
be like them/emotions so large they don’t fit in your skinny frame/watch the world shrivel like a
rose in winter/a million questions unanswered/towers of stars crashing down in showers of
anger/hopes snatched and taken/swallowed words tucked down down down/spew wishes across
yellow cakes/then pick them up off the ground/hide them in crevices/pockets/stash away your
childhood/faded memories dying in the night/lips bitten back to keep secrets safe/dried up ink,
from pens that no longer write/secrets made of rivers of blood and ink/precious skin sore from
tears like sharp knives/such thick, knotty ropes of tears/tear stained pillows/screams hidden
behind melodic shower hums/yell and yell, but your voice melts into the sky/invisible in a world
bloated with noise/bodies swallowed by the night/raw slivers of skin exposed through ripped
jeans/you’re so pretty that way/eyes bleed into your soul/each of your young limbs always
watched/gorgeous pretty pink darling baby girl/you’re supposed to like it, right/your face lives a
life on fire/your skeletal features brushed with color hide the cavern-like scars/mascara (that
you aren’t allowed to wear) caked like scales/try to fool the world/hope to please/the weight of
the planet lies on your trembling shoulders/thousands of unspoken stories weaved into your
skin's fabric/glass eyes that have watched themselves die over and over/tired feet/searching for a
place to call home/a broken heart that won’t heal/shattered pieces of a destroyed body/a silence
that speaks a thousand words/a bleeding heart that hides in its own cage/hidden fears/you’re
ugly/ugly, ugly/everything is your fault from the sky to the grass/sleepless nights spent
thinking/searching for someone/anyone?/red welts on skin from prodding and twisting/pinches
and scrapes/memories locked in clothes/sand/voices/hands/so many bodies left behind.

Cove Johnson Rabidoux is a teenage writer whose work can be found on Teen Ink, The Teen Magazine, Leaders Across the World, and on her blog titled Blue Pencil Writing. She serves as a managing editor for The Teen Magazine and she edits for the Trailblazer Literary Magazine and the Cathartic Youth Magazine. She is also a member of the Teen Ink Student Advisory Board. When she is not writing her novel, Cove enjoys reading, traveling, and baking.