November 1, 2016

Three Poems by Nina Brav

Three Poems by Nina Brav

Silly or Young

How silly I was then,

Or maybe too young

To see that the darkness on the wall

Was just myself

Reflected.

 

The wooden night-light

That carved the image of a withered tree

Standing, still in moonlight

That’s what made it bigger

 

That’s why I was afraid.

 

So I cowered under covers,

Silly to think my blanket

Could shield me from my monster

Too young to know

I’d never really

Escape it.

***

"Nights Are The Hardest" by Samantha Wong

“Nights Are The Hardest” by Samantha Wong

 

The Nights Are the Hardest 

“The nights are the hardest,” she’d said. She was right.

Night came. So did total destruction.

Dark winds howled, pushed me, dragged me off my perch, down with a thud. Clay skin cracked, pieces of me spread across cold cement floors. Then came the winged creatures. They tore at me, scratching and ripping away until I was exposed. Night came after me, like a chisel, chipping into me until I was bloody and sore.

 

But in this pain, this sadness, this utter destruction, there’s something hopeful. My brokenness for the first time makes me wonder, What great work of art I am being re-chiseled into? How much stronger might I be when I finally fill in the cracks on my broken, dry skin?

 

 

 

***

There’s Something About December

There’s something about her that catches his eye.

Maybe it’s the playful ways she pulls at the blue string of her

sweatshirt. Or maybe it’s how she blows kisses to strangers or

keeps her hair in front of her face.

Perhaps it is her eyes – icy blue like his favorite freezer pop that

comes in the plastic. She was cold. She was cruel. She was his

perfection and the stick thin object of my disdain.

***

These poems by Nina Brav are from the book Love and Other Monsters by Kay B., Nina Brav, and Michelle Bishop, published by Blue Fae Press, a Division of Urban Book Editor LLC. The art for “Nights Are The Hardest” is owned by Samantha Wong. All work copyright © 2016. Used by permission.

***

nina-brav-author-photo

Born and bred in the South, Nina Brav now lives and works in Boston. Her writing features themes around love, brokenness and the healing process, and magical realism. You can learn more about Nina Brav at Anina Production or by following her on Instagram @NinaBrav.

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