Transfusion by Natasha Bredle (14, Ohio)

[content warning: mentions of self harm]

Drowning. 
In water you couldn’t see. 
You took the blade to your wrist
so you could breathe a new way,
but please, don’t chain yourself
to these strategies, eventually 
scars will form and you will learn
to bleed differently, 

---

not blood, but ink. 
Find solace in the words 
which will sweep you away 
to a wider ocean, waves of famished
fervor lapping hungrily, 
nipping at your toes, and you will soak in
a satisfaction beyond what the
boundaries you’ve laid around your heart
could ever fathom. 
So you may breathe with strife for now,
But just know that one day, 
the oxygen will come easy 
once again.​