I brought her bangles to my teeth and
bit them so hard I drew blood
holding them under my tongue
until my mouth began to burn and
glowing embers blazed within me
until finally
I swallowed
Last night I brought her necklaces to my lips and engulfed them whole
Felt eons of suffering slink down my throat
Gagged every second but persisted because
I was craving to be reborn
Suddenly
I could not handle it anymore
Dropping to the floor
animalistic in nature I voraciously chewed through every last piece of her gold
I devoured the precious pieces she had tried to hide from me
the ones she thought she had concealed beneath motherly privacy
Slowly but surely
gold began to course through my veins
and I wondered with my head delirious in pain
if when I wept my tears would bear the color of her invaluable chains
So I turned to my mother’s mirror and stuck out my tongue
witnessed my tastebuds shimmer with flecks of aurum
shoved my hands through the glass
shards breaking off from the impact as
cuts filled my fingers and tears filled my eyes
then cried even more tears
those of joy when I realized
My tears of gleaming glitter had painted the dark hardwood floor into a starry sky
Last night I ingested my mother’s gold
This morning
my skin is the sun
my eyes drip honey
my touch is alive
This morning I am revitalized