'Old Soul Romantics Don't Go To Disneyland Alone': A Poem by Taylor Gianfrancisco

OLD SOUL ROMANTICS DON'T GO TO DISNEYLAND ALONE

Instead, they go to small South American towns that don’t exist

on maps. Their hemlines long and skimming the tall grass.

The cathedrals and the peak of Cotopaxi looming over them as they travel

to the mountain springs, encouraging themselves to swim in the water

and find the fabled monsters that were once single women.

They dye their hair crimson red, hide tattoos on their fair shoulders

because they are ashamed of how the ink has turned green.

How the verdant eyes of their abuelitas would look at them

if they knew about it and how many men they’ve been with

before swearing celibacy and trying on adventure instead.

They find silence in the springs and sleep with it every night

while their young husbands dance with other women, laugh at bad jokes,

and lead conversations about art, politics, and medicine.

They stare at the sun setting over the valley, painting

the old white walls in a rainbow of passion, and wonder

if snow looks different in other places around the world.

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Taylor Gianfrancisco is an aspiring writer/poet who lives in Orlando, Florida. She works as an editorial assistant at the literary magazines, JuxtaProse and Helen. Follow her eccentricities and adventures on Twitter at @shefruits and on Instagram at @tayleurmarie.