Text

dark mottled
splotches
creeping up
her arms
cherry colored
mouth pouting
while the rot
sets in
teasing the nose
with a hint
of decay
tantalizing and
attractive
lying back on
the silky sheets
with a comely
smile

little girl
turned into
an unlovely
girl with hair
that frizzes and
tickles her nose
under the covers
her other self
dances and plays
in the flowerbed
showing off
hints of skin
trapped underneath
heavy wool
clothes
and laid with
a fine mesh
of scars

in the curve
of her mouth
there is a beauty
even as the tears
fall like a fine
rain
even as her
fingers clutch
at the knives
in her purse
she is warm
and alive
inside

plain moth
girl with the
silvery hair
that feels
dry and brittle
go back into
the cocoon
and emerge
an ethereal
butterfly with
transparent wings
and treat the
world to your
smile
(it won't wither
the flowers)