Bloody Backlash

Bleeding sorrow exhales ghosts. Fierce backlash.

Favourite time carrying her for nine months:

Three times we almost lost her; bed rest;

Scared to death; move the least for her to live.

Slapping and biting become scared, frozen love.

Parties are fun. Being prey is not.

Frat parties—a new scared-to-death event.

Scared to death, being pushed down against her will.

Held down. Breathe. Fight—live. Desperate hope. No means no.

Secrets now locked inside her head. No mercy.

His crushed, bloody bones now buried deep in dirt.

Never wanted her to know my shame.

No shame will hold her down. Her head held high.

Bleeding sorrow exhales ghosts. Fierce backlash.

Tanish Dhawan is a young teenager with a lot of imagination and creativity. He loves to draw and fills his pages with colorful worlds and characters that come from his curious mind. When he’s not drawing, Tanish likes to write poetry—writing lines that show how he feels, what he dreams about, and the beauty he notices in everyday life. Every poem and piece of art helps him get better at what he does.

MD Bier is a binge reader who always has a book or camera in hand. Her writing reflects her passion for social change and social issues. She is an MFA candidate at William Paterson University, participates in several writing communities where she writes and studies. Her work has been published in various literary journals. MD Bier resides in NJ with her family and dog where she enjoys gardening and walking.