Two Pieces

Lucy Whalen

The Last Star

Sometimes, around this time of year,

You can see what a real angel looks like.

You have to wait for the right nights, of course,

When the world

Spins so fast that

Even stars stop dying,

And shadows of shredded wings

Emerge from the snow

Falling over oceans,

Wait for nights when the sky is too quiet

And you can feel

The universe shattering like glass,

Then try singing words I couldn’t show my ancestors

To the moon’s reflection on the water.

Maybe, when the last star has gone out

You’ll find her

Halo, shining like a lamppost over a changeling,

Lighting up scabs on her shoulders that

Glisten in the rain

Like scales.


If you ask nicely, she’ll let you come back with her,

Falling all 

             the 

                 way 

                       down 

                                                      to

The ocean floor,

Where the currents silence all

The names she did not ask for.

And we will hold each other,

Bound by prayers from

All those they

Thought we had forgotten. 

The Girl at the Piano
(an ode to dark academia)

You’re probably cold here, 

But in my mind there’s always logs in the fireplace.

The wind is howling outside,

Scratching the glass 

And you’re terrified -

But all I hear is your song lulling 

In the late December breeze.

The darkness makes it hard to see, 

So I draw you a candle, and

You lag over the keys like I stumble over mine,

Doubling back, 

Making mistakes that make you want to give up and go to bed,

But two hundred years and a song away 

Your bloody hands are cleaned by angel tears,

And you are a note held in place by my stave.

Until you pause for a moment, turn to face me -

And remind me that its 50% off   

At the sofa store.

Lucy Whalen (she/her) is a poet from England who explores the scary sides of love, loss, obsession, and nostalgia. In winter, she likes to sleep and watch The Holiday on repeat. You can find her at @lucywhalen01 on Twitter and @lucy_whalen on Instagram, or at www.lucychar.journoportfolio.com.