Anything Goes

_{Photo by Kleigh Balugo}

By Ryland McGinniss

reddening cheeks fashionably contrasting with the not so bright peachy orange outlines of our incorrectly feminine physiques 

as we’re dancing around the lukewarm flames

we let go of the yellow lanterns that hold our hearts and crumpled up papers with our dead names

and we lay on the dew dropped green grass

watching your eyes meet mine as i get flashbacks

of the day we kissed at the state fair

the day you dyed your own hair blue

and it looked terrible — i mean, absolutely terrible 

but it didn’t matter because we were together

and we finally stopped being afraid of what would happen if we weren’t so scared

purple stained lips

fluffy clouds twist

like the 10 dollar giant cotton candy

we shared

now all these memories are scribbled in charcoal black

tore up tear-stained diary pages thrown in the trash

and sometimes i crave to see those colors again as i lay alone under the covers

so i treat my mind like a kaleidoscope 

logic knows that’s not a healthy way to cope

but anything goes

in the escape

that i so fondly call a dream