[Submission] we were laying flowers
they bound us with our ribbons / shoved grave dirt down our throats
we were laying flowers we were laying flowers but that wasn't the headline you wanted 'MET justify breaking up vigil as it became anti-police protest' we were 'armed' with carnations they bound us with our ribbons shoved grave dirt down our throats and hoped we'd choke... we were laying flowers and the periodical exclamations: "too pure for this world" sound a little too much like a killer's excuse "she was too beautiful to live" and the unspoken confession ("so i had to kill her") hangs, like a death knell, in the air weblamecentre the victim we don't name the men who committed the atrocities ("because they don't deserve the press") we don't address the society that let it happen (over and over) or the true crime podcasts "solving" nicola's case (as her family sat at home and prayed) or the voices that tell us it will always be our fault (for how we dressed, what we said, where we were) even as we were laying flowers

This poem was submitted to the White Lily Society for the limited time submission prompt “Dead Girls”.
Beth Bayliss is a queer, disabled poet who writes about her experiences with abuse, addiction, and her recovery from both. You can find her on her personal Instagram, @ bethtbayliss
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