my coral reef by Hannah Levin

[Trigger warning: self-harm]
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i like to tease blood from my skin 
my bone-wine, my soul-touch tenderly 
dotting my arms, adorning my legs. 
it spills out from a goblet of flesh 
creating pretty patterns, sunless weather ​

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mindlessly loving nothing else but her 
i kiss my arms with the blade. she grants me mercy 
that i do not grant myself in fear of vanity, 
an alternative pathway i know i cannot take. if 
i could just go deeper, maybe i’d see her more and less 
 
the seasons of my love wash and wane. 
i’ve banged my head one too many times 
on my headboard, numblessly touching nothing 
and i have nothing left to offer her but my body; 
 
my sacred flesh a temple, defiled long ago, ripped off now 
made anew by these terrible trembling hands ​

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Hannah Levin is a freshman at Catalina Foothills High School. She loves classical literature and death metal, and she's heading to New York this summer to participate in the New York Times Summer Academy debate program.