2 poems by deidre olsen

ORIGAMI

​I am origami,
And though complicated,
My skin is thin delicate paper.
I unfold in your arms.
And when flattened out,
You can still see all the lifelines I’ve been hiding.
You may have crumpled me up and tossed me away.
But instead,
You shaped me into a different form,
The most beautiful I have ever been.

WATERFALL

Your tresses flow from your scalp,
A waterfall of ribbons, pooling at your neckline.
I submerge myself underneath the cascading curtains,
Lamenting in the transience of this endless chute.
I find refuge in your collarbone cavern
And dream of staying past winter and into the spring.

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Deidre Olsen is a queer, non-binary digital marketer and writer based in Toronto whose work has been published in Refinery29, New York Magazine's The Cut, Now Magazine, Brooklyn Magazine and more.