Ashley R. Oden

Three copper pennies, just for me, What purpose might they bear? One for a kitten, pink-nosed and warm, One for our love, a whispered prayer. The third I’ll keep, a secret wish, I’m not yet ready to share. #vss365 #FromOneLine

Doe-eyed deviant, pale & still how does your garden grow With hemlock, sage, & wicked thrill I dare say I must know Widows spin lethal thread bats cry up high Petals bloom shades of dread ‘neath October sky Oh whisper now my darkest one how does your garden grow #vss365

Such a bitter day winter’s bite beneath my skin No masala flame could match the fire he lit within Pines bent low my breath held tight What I’d give for one long kiss his mouth my mercy warmth where only cold has been #vss365

Awaken me, o shadowed one, your voice, a wraith, devours my name. Crooked truths hiss of wrong and right, while I lie bound ‘tween death and light. In crimson glens, pale petals weep, awaken me, in your arms to sleep. #vss365 #FoxProse

Maybe it was too much to believe we could stay together how naive we were thinking love was enough Maybe one day we’ll understand the tears the pain of shaking voices trembling hands that fought so hard to not let go #vss365

Violet petals scatter soft at my feet, so strange, so still, I dare not leap. But through glassed pane, I glimpse a world where dreams collide, quiet, untamed. I leave the page, dark ink still warm, to chase the wind through breaking dawn. #vss365 #FoxProse

I could’ve drowned in tears I cried, shackled feet, inked butterflies. But oh, to live, to rise again, to stand through flame, resist the end. To hold the line inside my mind, against the pull to come undone, against the dark I’m running from. #vss365

Ozzy taught us how to scream and still survive. How to make poetry out of pain, and howl it loud. Thank you for the music, for the madness, and for the magic. RIP. 🖤

If #promises were pebbles I’d gather each one with care Tuck them deep inside my pocket Guarded always, resting there Then, gently, I would offer them A gift laid in your hand To keep beside your heartbeat Like stars tucked into sand #vss365

Am I awake or caught in dreaming onyx eyes lock onto my own In silence hoofbeats echo Mother Mary shield my soul #vss365

We fly low then high chasing something wisteria vines and paper-thin lies Truth is, none of us not you not I has ever truly known the art of drifting free #vss365 (My photo—like the first time ever!)

I’d like to take these tears, these thoughts, and toss them where the light is not. A wormhole deep, and cold, and wide, to pull this ache from deep inside. Let silence stretch, where pain has been, a quiet place to be me again. #vss365

More contrarian than ol’ Marion, (or Mary? Meh, who’s carin’). Black shoes stomp where petals fall, snark’s my armor, sharp & all. I grin with teeth, jab, tease, a thorn sweet when I want to please. Bring me skulls, not roses tame, don’t forget my heart’s no game. #vss365

He was my savant of darkest need taught me how to love, and bleed Bound my thoughts in thorn-lined chain turned my silence into pain Carved his vow into my skin whispered soft, “You let me in” I wore his mark, his wound, my prayer called it love, to keep me there #vss365

Something’s wrong your words cut deep and I’m too tired to bleed again I’ll wait beneath the oak where the wind still holds what you let go No skirmish in my silence just the sound of staying soft If you return come bare come warm and maybe aching too #vss365

I dance alone in taffeta, dust motes ask for my hand. I bow with grace yet say no, no, for my hand belongs to him. #vss365

Sweet, sweet nightingale What rook has made you cry He sang you love, then let you fall Beneath his shiny lie No need to beg, no need to weep I’ll lay him down so very deep Let worms recall the words he spoke While you, my sweet, find sleep #vss365

I remember it well your eyes held me spellbound You joked your cummerbund was too tight to breathe but nothing constricted like ache between as lips met What was it like to breathe on my own before you Love was our air our spell I remember it so very well #vss365

She was his hamartia, cloaked in grace, He kissed his ruin on her face. Their love bled red beneath the moon, Two hearts that beat, then broke too soon. #vss365

When the fight is done and silence wins come to me, my love Let fists forget let shadows slip you don’t have to hold the world I’ll be the breath beneath your skin the peace you fall into again The boxer sleeps But I remain a steady pulse, your soft refrain #vss365