Content Warning: Sexual Assault 

Emotions,
Love, happiness,
attraction, lust,
violence.
You say your affection is a seed needing to be planted so it may grow.
Feelings festering needing to be freed,
Released.
But I am a tree in and of my own
Planted and rooted in place
Planting your seed uprooted me, cracked the ground I once stood firmly planted upon.
You carved the word victim upon me
Engraved deep within my wood below the bark
Your hands helping your unwanted unwelcome seed grow leaving permanent scars
ripping down leaves in hand fulls
Swallowing my air, slowly starting to feel the suffocation,
restricting each breathe I struggle to swallow,
Cutting me down to make room for your wants, your needs.
Chopping and hacking away at what makes me, me.
But it’s okay because it’s for your gratification, your release, because
I am just a tree
right?
Left uprooted and torn apart.

Biography: Hi! My name is Elizabeth Clouston. I am currently taking Aims classes to get credits to prepare for transferring over to a four year university. I graduated with my AA last fall. I started writing poems for fun and then it turned into a way to express my feelings. Emotions that were too hard to express became easier to write.

It was an unexpected hobby. I have dyslexia and had a struggle learning that reading and writing could be so much fun. Learning that you do not have to be as fast or as good as others helped me realize that I could make art in a way that can have an impact and make a difference. I want to go into law. I want to make a difference within our justice system. I want to fight for people who don’t have a voice. Having my writing reflect my goals and voice is why I write.