Words have never satiated me
so I tear the pages out of the thesaurus
I let the synonyms synergize my sins
and the antonyms antagonize my anomalies
And at night I crawl under the covers
and the words crawl under my corium
they settle in the crevices of my flesh
and inhabit my integument
the words lying under my face
bring out the under lying fears I can’t face
the bile rises in my throat
and foggy memories rise in my mind
As a toddler I’d hold my father’s hand
when I was scared of
the monster hiding under my bed
As a child I’d hold myself
when I was hiding under the bed
scared of my father’s hand
I rack the medicine cabinet
and search the racks for
allergy pills to free up my chest
and for sleeping pills
to free up my mind
and so then I do not eat because
my friends do not eat because
pretty girls do not eat because
to be skinny is to be pretty
your stomach should be full of air
but my stomach is full of words
into my system they have found a way
and as much as I try
i cannot digest what you say.
Nikhita Makam is 16 years old, too young to know much but too old to get away with things. She is author of 14 works by a 14 year old and calls herself a "high school student by day, poet by night." Her works have been published in national newspapers and international journals. She believes that poetry has power, something that her mother taught her. She finds happiness in reading, writing, gardening, octopuses, and wondering about ladybugs. She tries her best to maintain a balance between all of her hobbies, school and the common dreaded enemy to all high school students- homework.