Phoenix Forged By Stars

By Linda M. Crate

i sew my wounds

shut with stars,

fire isn't only destructive

sometimes it can

heal;

after every chaos of my heart

had subsided there were plants

activated by fire growing

which weren't growing there before—

i always rise from the ashes an immortal

phoenix, whose fires can burn

and whose tears can heal;

but my song is one

worth remembering,

my magic

is all my own—

sometimes people take my

love for granted,

and it hurts;

but i contain multitudes

and some of them are

shallows

perhaps it makes sense why

they can't understand

or comprehend all of my depths.

About the author
Linda M. Crate (she/her) is a Pennsylvanian writer whose poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has seventeen published chapbooks the latest being: only the future knows (Alien Buddha Press, November 2025).