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handcrafted

🩵

By River and Celia in Underland Published 10 months ago 1 min read
the neighborhood, river, 2019

i made a bird for you

hand crafted

out of clay

to hold my greatest fears

you had always treated them

like feathers

fragile and precious

passed down by

those things you

protected me from

when i was so very young

ceramic and cracked

you pieced them together

with

glue

and

tape

you knew would peel

as soon as

my heart got so cold

you picked me up

porcelain

and practiced

knowing it was all

so very conditional

now i know

what it is to have

unconditional

i was fine china

until i was too sharp

to hold

complicated

and queer

so odd

you pretended

not to know me

the last time we met

so i built you a bird

left the mermaid

on my bathroom wall

put a period on the sentence

i'd let be a question mark

for so

very long

-r🩵

heartbreak

About the Creator

River and Celia in Underland

Mad-hap shenanigans, scrawlings, art and stuff ;)

Poetry Collection, Is this All We Get?

Short Story Collection, Fifth Avenue Pizza

Website

Reader insights

Outstanding

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  1. Heartfelt and relatable

    The story invoked strong personal emotions

  2. Easy to read and follow

    Well-structured & engaging content

  3. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

  1. Expert insights and opinions

    Arguments were carefully researched and presented

  2. Eye opening

    Niche topic & fresh perspectives

  3. Masterful proofreading

    Zero grammar & spelling mistakes

  4. Compelling and original writing

    Creative use of language & vocab

  5. On-point and relevant

    Writing reflected the title & theme

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Comments (8)

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  • Cathy holmes10 months ago

    Oh my. That is heartwrenching. "Conditional" ugh. 🤗

  • Gosh this was so poignant and emotional. Sending you lots of love and hugs ❤️

  • Killing Mission 10 months ago

    Amazing

  • Mother Combs10 months ago

    Love this, River. Great flow However, I don't like to read heartbreak poems from one of my two favorite people. :(Since I KNOW you two are so in love <3 LYLAS

  • sleepy drafts10 months ago

    I literally just gasped out loud in my desk chair. CHILLS. Ugh, that last stanza and that last line, "put a period on the sentence / i'd let be a question mark / for so / very long" - hit so, so deep. Damn. This is beautiful, heart-wrenching, and empowering all at once. Bra-freaking-vo. <3

  • Paul Stewart10 months ago

    This was so sad...and weighty, but so spot-on as to what heartbreak can be like, as Michelle said. As sad as it is, it's stunning and a great reminder of why it's good to have you back on Vocal, River, you and the Celia! :) Well done, and like Grz said, the format and flow were on point!

  • Grz Colm10 months ago

    I’m a bit slow these days but vastly enjoyed your poem - I had to give it a second read through to fully comprehend the weight of the ending. It has a terrific flow River and I like this style as it’s (to me) more emphatic. 💚

  • This illustrates heartbreak so well. The change between love and that can be sudden!

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