(Ma ma) sleeps

with a knife

under her pillow

(her dreams are

(safer than mines)

I grabbed a butter

knife, put it inside

my pillowcase

dreamed a man

climbed inside

my window

climbed inside my

body dreamed a man

kissed me on

my thing, kissed me

it’ll be okay,

dreamed I reached

for my knife,

put shaky

fingers underneath

the pillowcase and

felt nothing.

the knife slipped

from the case,

laid on the floor

next to me

wonder if the thump

woke mama

wonder if she

heard my skin

breaking

Starr Davis is a poet from Columbus, Ohio currently residing in New York City as an MFA Candidate in Creative Writing at City College of New York. Her poetry has been published in Kalyani Magazine, Rigorious Magazine, Lipstickparty Magazine, and The Promethean. She works as a Creative Writing Mentor for Writopia. She lives in the Bronx, NY.