Episode 12 – Prophecy Girl

The final days.

1.
Skylights above

the end of the world
shine light on the words
of the prophecy.
I can’t tell you how much I care
or I may die.
You may die.
And I care so much
it hurts.

2.
Shadows haunt me.

Nothing to protect me.
No one understands.
Death touches me
in my living room.
I still don’t want to die,
but seeing you cry
makes me know
I can
if that’s what it takes.

3.
I am the lamb.

A little child
leads me
through the shadows.
No arrows
can pierce me.
My sacrifice was made
long ago.

4.
Arrows above

the flow
of my dress
guide me to you.
I follow because I know
who you are.
You are the boy
who thinks he loves me.
The man who loves me
sees it
in your eyes.

5.
I can’t stand to see

you there,
drowned in the pool
of our pities,
for even if I love you,
I can’t put breath
back into
your beautiful
face.

6.
The dress encircles you like my heart

and I am risen,
revived by your veneration.
As the music swells
I reach for you,
soon to die,
to fly away
and send them all back
where
they came from.

7.
Dying

only made me more
secure
in my beauty,
in my strength,
and you can’t take
that
from me.

Episode 11 – Out of Mind, Out of Sight

cut off my face
serve it up for dinner
for beauty exists
only
if you can taste it

     *     *     *

A flute trills the night air,
sorrowful notes
of my existence.
I blend into the wallpaper,
no flowers
or stripes to stand out
against the background.

You see through me,
my despair stuffed
like laundry into
a canvas bag,
dirty and wrinkled,
smelling of sweat.

Rag dolls and
stuffed animals,
past lives comfort me
as I melt into thin air,
the notes of my flute
seeking audience
so I won’t be so alone.

Episode 10 – Nightmares

She stands frozen,
pigtails in the master’s lair.
He hisses.

For a moment she believes
it’s just a bad dream . . .

The sad faced boy
brings tarantulas to class.

Someone breaks in
to kill us while we sleep.

Lost in the forest
we stand naked, vulnerable.

It’s dark and I’ve misplaced you.
I did so many things wrong.

He’s there,
over        and over        again,

letting me believe he might still love me,
then fades away,

laughing at my silliness
for believing he loved me
in the first place.

I find myself in despair and he comes back,
over        and over again,
to tell me he doesn’t want me.

I used to be afraid of snakes,
but their soft hiss no longer frightens me.

Over and        over again,

they come to me
speaking serpentine soliloquies,

then slide away.

Lost in the forest,
I stand naked and vulnerable,

but awake.

Episode 9 – The Puppet Show

In blood or in lipstick
(I can never tell them apart),
I awaken to see
shining upon my mirror:

STEPPUP

What can it mean?
Step up to the plate?
Take responsibility?

Some comment on how
I lost the dog in the divorce,
the new wife now sporting
a step pup?

But I digress.
What am I scared of?

The dark?
The madness of drunken fathers?
Not really.

PUPPETS!
Yes.

What could be more frightening?
Whitney Houston songs?

Maybe.

Episode 7 – Angel

My knight arrives
in unexpected garb,

but
I know him.

One kiss
in the slanted
evening light
and a beast
awakens.

I scream.

’Twas only shadows
stirring memories,
making me hungry
for the past.

Celtic angel,
your love
leaves gaping
wounds,

temptations.

If love is true,
look upon
my face and
know my secrets.

I bow before you,
offer my life,
then walk away,

remembering.

Episode 6 – The Pack

Sniffing about,
nose to air,
it seems almost
proper
to prey upon
the weak,

something deep
in our psyche
guiding us to
quash and
conquer.

If your primal
needs a booster,
there’s nothing
for you here.

I’ll hurt you
if you force
your hand.

Don’t rub
your scent
on me.

Episode 3 – Witch

a girl

a girl is not her mother
and expending much energy
she strives not to be

longing for

often stumbling
on the rocky footpath
of finding her own way

a mother

a mother sculpts
her misplaced yearnings
into a daughter’s pliable flesh

longing

then bored
abandons her piece
before it’s finished

for herself

i almost died
you didn’t notice

herself

you almost cried
i refused to see

longing