halo

this afternoon, i held a photoshoot
on my unmade bed. my hair was a mess

& my fingernails were jagged from biting
like my lip was swollen, rosy like my sheets—

i was messy, sleep-rumpled— sunlit from behind
until i was transformed. i looked angelic, turning

my head to better appraise the glow
of my frizzy hair, to admire the sheen of beach-sweat

atop my cheeks & the bridge of my nose. i am soft
when clad in lace, when curtains flutter behind me.

—

Sophie Allen