Pink

Poem by Hailey Jiang
TW: Allusion to sexual trauma.

Butterscotch candies and white lace
A cloudy evening outside
He invites you to his place
He shares ripe cherries, tangy juice dripping down your chin
Admires the pink lace to keep your hair out of your face

Brush your hair and get your beauty sleep
What a beautiful mind and kind soul
Sugar and spice and everything nice
Your muliebrity shines gold
The world stretches in front of you
A scarlet sunset
Endless possibilities and what has not come yet

And perhaps that is the most dangerous white lie,
That the scarlet sunset is beautiful and when it is not,
It is covered by the white clouds in the sky.
That the lace your mother gave to you
Was pink when she was young,
That pink is the beauty of 
Mature womanhood and innocent girlhood wrapped in one.

Hard scotch and Shirley Temple,
A dizzying mosaic of red and white,
Red staining white, 
His ring on your finger, you’re trapped
In the dizzying haze of your mind.

The clouds start to clear
As you run frantically into the scorching red sunset.
White lace stuffed in your pocket,
Cherry juice dripping down the inside of your legs,
Staining the lace that you will regret
Giving your daughter
Pink.