Three Poems by Linda M. Crate

i don't miss you

go ahead
and leave the arrow there
you already shot me
through the heart,
and no act of remorse could
tear it out now;
it as much a part of me that sorrow and anger
as the joy and laughter and happiness
i could never let
anyone destroy me
so i grew into the pain and let it grow
into me to make me
stronger
i am a special kind of weird--
but i have feathers now
that burn with fires i have never known before you
so thank you for shattering me
i had to become stronger
the weak little rabbit hearted girl had to die
because i could never achieve my dreams if i were still her,
and so you can wipe your eyes
i am already getting my
revenge
my vengeance is my success because you'll watch me
achieve all my dreams without you;
there's no turning back
i don't miss you
anymore.



kiss the flame

maybe you thought
i would be a good little girl
just lay still
become another of your blue lipped
angels that you kiss
when you grow bored of being
true,
but i've always been a rebel;
i rose from the ocean
you left me in
burned straight through my ashes and
ascended into the sky--
i know you think you've done no wrong
that all the blame is mine
because you warned me that you were
a knave,
but a girl in love pays no heed to warnings
from the lips of a man who has
charmed her;
you have to know that being untrue
is never excused
so i don't accept your unapology--
you were insincere, you were a liar, you oozed
charisma and charm you never meant;
you are the worst sort of liar
because you think you're telling the truth
but the truth could never be so distorted--
go ahead and kiss the flame
you need it's edification
because you have the tongue of a serpent
i could never accept your lies,
and neither should anyone else have to.



sweet honesty

i'll use my blood
to warn
anyone you love to stay away
because i don't want
any other woman
to make you her god when we both
know you're a pathetic
excuse for even a
man,
and i tire of hearing your excuses
of letting all the blame fall
heavy on me like that
autumn kiss you placed on my lips
that chased away leaves from their trees;
i will use my voice as a weapon
destroy
all your prospects of joy and love
before you can destroy them
as you've shattered my
heart--
i am not that eager
foolish
rabbit hearted girl that you left behind
trying to please you
i need no man
that doesn't need me so you can say i've taken
all your memories and burned them
like the gifts you gave me.

Linda M. Crate is a Pennsylvanian native born in Pittsburgh yet raised in the rural town of Conneautville.  Her poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print.  Recently her two chapbooks A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press -- June 2013) and Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon -- January 2014) were published.  Her fantasy novel Blood & Magic was published in March 2015.  Her novel Dragons & Magic is forthcoming through Ravenswood Publishing.