Author's note: This poem may or may not be my best, but is probably my favorite. It references the Tam Lin fairytale, where Tam Lin was captured and held by the fairy queen, and his mortal lover had one chance to rescue him—only if she can hold on to him as the queen changes his shape into one monster after another. I think this poem is the closest I’ve come to approximating a manic state, and is dedicated, not to any lover, but to my sister, who never let me go.


Enthralled
                                                     
                                                                                              
I found myself lost                                                          
Black, mechanical,                                                          
An alien left behind.                                                      
I had razor blades
Instead of bones
Beneath my skin.
I spoke in colors
Words like sequins
Breaking light
Into smaller and smaller
Fractions.
I had to sort you out
Between the voices
Of the trees, the grass
Shouting and singing
Sharp and dangerous
As fields of broken glass.
I came naked
Feathered and spurred
My tongue baroque
Unregulated,
My arms full
Of awkward gifts:
Apologies like small
Black holes
Swallowing worlds
Blind spots white
As lepers
Running fevers and other
Sudden lightnings
Hard to find room for
In any reasonable space.
But you held fast
Through fire season
Keeping track
While I burned and raved
A speed demon
Racing through a thousand
Changing shapes.
You held strong
Laying claim
Against enchantment
You never blinked
You never saw
Any face but mine
Rock steady
Waiting for me
Underneath the shadow maze
Of  strange mutations
Where I found myself
Lost.