She drew dragons on her paper
the girl with sad eyes
two green marbles
blinking long and hard between smudges of fire
and scaly skin
timid and clumsy
she was a freckled fish drowning in allocutions
trying to kill the bees in her stomach with rum and gin
buzzing
her peers tsk-tsked
turning their heads back and forth
like mechanical dolls touched by angels
drowsy and liberated
she let herself drift away
to what she always imagined home would feel like
for mere hours
she ran free in tall grasses
that tickled her thighs
releasing her fiery orange hair to dragons who flapped between her ample arms
starch white fingers fed a burning breath
but pink clouds turn black
and clear water turns murky
so she fell from the ground
home draining from her ears
like sweet molasses
left only with holes in her head
and soggy bees in her stomach