Ashley Edwards

Origami

I’m really good at origami 

One time, I turned his entire box of red flags into roses

This other time, I made my body into a graveyard 

I’m a rest stop for deadbeat lovers 

And half the time 

I’m folding my no’s into yes’ 

I’m always trying to turn things into something they’re not 

Change them

Alter them 

Thinking that maybe if I just tweak them a little bit, I can fix it

Do you remember when I tried to mold your anger into orchids?

Tried to flip my father into full time 

The thing about origami

Is once you make the fold 

You can’t go back

The crease stays there 

I’m learning that people are like paper 

You can’t get the creases out of them 

No matter how much you try

You can’t make someone be where they don’t want to be 

You can’t turn stones into stairwells 

The hardest thing about origami 

Is you have to take the smallest pieces of something and try to make it whole 

Which is why half the time I’m left with unfinished projects 

Which is why half the time I got all these paper cuts on my hands

I remember I tried to turn you into a swan 

Used all the scars you had from previous artists

But that’s the most beautiful thing about origami 

Is That you can take something hideous 

And turn it into something it never thought it could be

Even if it’s just for show 

Even when you know that the swan is not really a swan 

When I say I’m good at origami 

What I really mean is that loving you is a trick I’ve mastered 

Creases and all 

And I know that this doesn’t last forever, 

That eventually the swan turns back into the ugly duckling 

That I will no longer be the person you need 

So I guess that makes the both of us good at folding

Did you know? 

Japanese tradition says that if you fold a thousand cranes, you get one wish 

I’d fold a thousand more 

To love you one more time


Ashley Edwards is a poet from Richmond, Virginia. She began writing poetry at the age of 16 and has been writing ever since. She’s currently working on publishing a poetry book of her own. She enjoys writing on subjects such as love, betrayal, friendship, racial injustice, and about strong, beautiful women. She also enjoys performing her pieces at local shops around the city and hopes to inspire people with her words.