Outstripped

My first word as a baby was
ball

Fitting,
since I hadn't loved you yet.

As a young girl, my favorite song was
"Walking on Sunshine"

As a teenager,
Can't remember.

All the substances I must've ingested,
digested, slathered about, pasted onto my skin

I’ve somehow forgotten how to name.

Now,
It all feels so stupid.

And really,
the whole time I thought of a thread
as something to be eventually frayed.

Used for twisting, suturing
and gradually dissolving.

I think that it’s all to say,
how silly a loose thread seems,
sprawled out like a lace on a child's shoe.

A version of me,
Still unaware that an untied shoe isn't sloppy,
it's just one of those things.
Like a door thrust open,

to another life,
where you kneeled and tied my laces.

But the thing about loose threads,
is that it turns out,
you only need two.

Chloe Colvard is a writer, graphic designer, and visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Her practice typically addresses girlhood, love, and sex in the digital landscape. Much of her practice involves toying with memory, as well as out-of-context communications. She uses childhood photos, food, and found objects as means of inspiration. She is a graduate of The New School with a degree in Creative Writing. Chloe’s contributions have recently appeared in publications such as Curated by GIRLS, Verdict Magazine, and the inaugural issue of Bed. She is the former Editor-in-Chief of the literary magazine, 12th Street.