losing my mind by Jessica Tsang (16, Hong Kong)*

when Waltzing Alone in an abandoned ballroom
is deemed insanity
                i will set myself alight
dousing myself in belladonna-infused gasoline,
perfuming my bones like death peeling back my skin

with the tulle of my skirt wet with fallen rain and
unfulfilled prophecies, words caught from northern
winds
invention created from these           newborn hands,
calluses on the fingertips.
pieces of history forced down my throat, tasting like
raw coffee beans and broken lipsticks
my character shoes                        prancing on marble
the statues on the wall judging my form,

---

mirrors warping like funhouses
my eyes              sliding into oblivion
as if i am lucid dreaming and your face is only
a reflection in the shadows
                      as fleeting as i believe myself to be