by Sadee Bee
These selections are from After the Song, a 20-poem chapbook that explores the symbiosis between poetry and music, noting that a lyric can be a simple muse to open up a new world of poetic thought. Check out the companion playlist on Spotify.
Alive I Am
After “Lovely” by Billie Eilish & Khalid
A hundred / seconds / a hundred / days /
I would presume a hundred / years /
Could I see the future /
of this futile love / tearing me to pieces /
Such a lonely headspace /
Bitter remembrances / cold yearning /
Never conceived / I’d make it out alive /
Still / Alive / I am /
Heart carved from stone /
Somehow still / all alone /
I feel you / haunting /
my body / my blood / my bones //
“I Can’t Go Back the Way I Came.”
After “My Heart is Broken” by Evanescence
I so wish I could; that I could unblock that road.
Crawl back into that cataclysmic rubble. Sift through
rotted debris, trying to find the moment my life came undone.
So much detritus–
Impossible to know the exact place a Faultline began.
Move one shattered piece to another place, set myself
on a different course.
Going back the way I came, is a hope to rewrite an ending
that has yet to come.
Perhaps Savory
After “Parallel Timeline” by Slothrust
You should eat my motivation /
Serve up my ego / like french toast /
Sweet on your tongue /
Perhaps savory /
Whatever it takes to devour /
Me /
Until I /
Can’t be found anymore /
Call this meditation /
A simple daydream /
Some parallel timeline /
Where I am free /
and food /
and feast //
Between Wrath and Mercy
After “Simmer” by Hayley Williams
Reticence / sits between /
Wrath and mercy /
Ruminate / deliberate /
Weigh where to draw the line /
However thin /
I have cupped wrath to my breast /
Held it tenderly /
As it whispered / sweet nothings /
Mercy remains / Resilient firefly
trapped in a jar / resting on my altar /
An offering /
I have yet to release / or receive /
For Wrath /
Is the only mercy /
I have come to know /
Sadee Bee (They/She) is a queer artist and writer inspired by magic, strange dreams, and creepy vibes. Sadee is the Visual Arts Editor for Sage Cigarettes Magazine and the author of Pupa: Growth & Metamorphosis (Alien Buddha Press) and Magic Lives In Girls (kith books). Bee can be found on Twitter @SadeeBee, on Instagram @sadee__bee, and on the web at linktr.ee/SadeeBee.
