Just because I don’t bite
my fingernails or clip
my own toenails doesn’t signify
I don’t cry the same as you.
I’ve shed big, fat raindrops,
snot dripping from my nose
into my lap of emerald silk.
Those are watermarks that do not fade.
I stain like any egg, and crack and spill
the whole sticky mess. Just because
I clean up with Swarovski crystals—
all dogwood pink and redbud purple—
doesn’t negate the fact that my life
can be hard and sharp as diamond.
I live like dryads in their cathedrals
of limbs and leaves, in my cloud castles
and yachts, in my fashionable Eden.
You half love, half hate the shimmer
of my pearlized skin—think it should
be yours to keep like my mild,
California-dream gaze. Here, I am Eve
with my apple and finches and floral breezes.
I’m Jezebel of pastels, Lilith of hot pink,
all sick, sensual femme fatales you adored
in childhood horror stories. Of them, I am queen.
I fracture—eggshell bleeding, blue-eyed
deceiver—and quake. I feel heavy, eternally
water-logged, wicked green. My heirlooms,
my inheritance, my royal indulgence
sparkle (bright-blinding) like metallic
confetti you sweep off your decks and doorsteps.
You think my falling apart is pretty
as blossoms showering down from trees.
Say I’m as dim as five a.m.
Say I’m all for show, all my roots
hold no beauty unlike my manicured tips
and the sequin in my dresses.
I’ll stress this: I’ll weep
‘til you’re all soaked through with me,
and then race away laughing.
Author notes
a little early
picture: Princess of the Rising Sun by D-e-v-i
http://d-e-v-i.deviantart.com/art/Princess-Of-The-Rising-Sun-66895734
In a list
Please tell me what you think
Comments
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You somehow managed to hit all the imagery I typically associate with April . . . occasional rain, occassional cold snaps (at least in CA), greenery, rebirth, and others. Terrific job.
-Clif
. Rewarded 4
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Drys is the Greek word for oak, thus dryads were nymphs that lived in oak trees. I’m not sure about Swarovksi crystals but think they are some sort of gem stone like an opal. Lilith was Adam’s first wife before Eve (were they divorced?) or a female demon that attacks children. The eggs must relate to Easter and the new life of spring. The tears are April showers and the green is spring growth.
That is as far as I got. Then, I just sat back and enjoyed the images that this wonderful piece of writing painted in my imagination.
Thanks for posting this.
Kind regards, Peter
. Rewarded 8
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Thank you, as always, for reading.
"Swarovksi" was my fault--a misspelling. Should be Swarovski---those colorful crystals that are all-the-rage in Hollywood (and, well, I think they're pretty too). They make me think of flowers.
-K
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