On Becoming a Parade Float

by Hadley Dion

Hadley Dion is a writer and filmmaker from Los Angeles. Her poems have been published or are forthcoming in Scapegoat Review, FreezeRay Poetry, Nixes Mate Review, and more. She spends her free time volunteering at her local cat rescue and crafting punch needle rugs. You can find more of her work at hadleydion.com.

On becoming a parade float

What would it feel like

to live like he had never touched you?

To live like he had never lived at all?

To reclaim your body,

parade it through the streets,

a float of resistance.

Bedazzled and bouqueted.

Smelling of citrus pith, honeyed gentians,

smelling of bittersweet victory.

To love yourself in the face of judgment.

To turn every corner without fear.

Knowing enough people loved you

enough to volunteer,

to plant flowers in all the places you thought were scarred.

What is it like to be the talk of the town?

To have every eye on you and in all this celebration,

in all this confetti gloried openness,

what would it feel like to know

you are finally safe out on the street.