Patterns by Aimee Nicole

When you
tug o’ war
so careless
my emotions fray
like chewed through wire.
Brain so
rug burned
by that abrasive
tone and I don’t know
if I should cry or
time out in the corner.
Don’t you know
that flippant
style is like a home,
I bury my nuts there
and cannot find them…
every winter
I starve myself
all over again.
Aimee Nicole is a chronically ill queer poet currently residing in Rhode Island. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Roger Williams University and has been published by the Red Booth Review, The Nonconformist, and Voice of Eve, among others. For fun, she enjoys attending roller derby bouts and trying desperately to win at drag bingo. Her first collection Daily Worship is scheduled for publication by Laughing Ronin Press this upcoming January 2022. Instagram: @aimeenicole525