Dorothy Gale,
are you okay?
Is the Clozapine keeping
your twisters at bay?

Do the brainless scarecrows
invade your dreams?
Is your sanity
unraveling at the seams?

No witches on brooms
are taking flight,
no flying demon monkeys
are coming tonight.

There's a yellow brick road
to your padded room.
where a straight jacket
waits to seal your doom.

There are no ruby slippers
to take you back home.
No wizard to cure
your psychotic syndrome.

Betray me with a whisper
cradle me in shame
put me in your midnight blue
and give me all the blame.

Ignore the words
that haunt me,
use them as you wish,
project them with your doublecross,
and treat me like your *****.

My shattered porcelain heart,
broke on your concrete.
Piercing through the skin
underneath your calloused feet.

Drowning in regret
is all that's' left of me,
it grips me at my aching core
and will never let me be.

Speculative perspective
is the mood for tonight.
Investigating my reality;
ruminating the moonlight.

With a stilleto stemmed glass
filled with Chardonnay,
I'll take my first person
on a questionable display.

Do I judge too harshly?
Do people push me over?
Do my emotions control
my chemical composure?

Do I practice empathy
by wearing someone's shoes?
While trying to understand
a different point of view?

Do I come off as authentic?
Do I truly mean my words?
Or do I come off as crazy
and totally absurd?

Do I aim to please people
and forget about myself?
Do I take offense
with my pride being shelved?

Are my beliefs, the truth?
Or are they just an illusion?
Gaslighting me into
a state of confusion.

Honesty will protect me
from a world that's cold and bitter.
Hindsight's the appetizer, and
perspective, it's what's for dinner.

Cherry-pick the parts that fit your narrative.
Discard the others, they are imperative.

Cherry-pick all the "Yes Men" you like.
Trust what they say, believe the hype.

Cherry Pick this slippery ***** we're descending on.
Plunge down the proverbial landslide we came upon.

The stripes have gone dull;
the colors won't bleed.
Did we muddle it up?
Did we **** the dream?

Or was it disguised as a nightmare
for the ones that believed
in the black of the morning
with the dirt on their sleeve?

Was it the salt that you tasted
when it didn't go your way,
manipulating the stars
to make them all pay?

Did your servants make a mint
off a functioning back?
You still didn't earn
the empathy that you lack.

The party is over
the one I once knew
a voice will be counted
inside the small booth.

So, raise your glasses up high
and share this drink with me!
Here's to America!
My land of the Free!

AND.....SCENE!

Well done!
Now,  with your permission,
I need to critique your
acting audition.

Sit beside me, on this tufted couch.
We have a lot to discuss, a lot to talk about.

A diamond in the rough is what I see.
The silver screen is where you belong,
where you need to be.

I can polish
the rough parts of your exterior.
Compared to other actresses,
you will be superior!

Don't be shy! Relax!
Come closer!
Let me help....
I'll massage your back,
rub your shoulders....

Now, where was I..?

Yes! You will win Oscars
made of gold!
The spotlight is yours
to control!

Everyone will know
who you are!
A household name!
A shining star!

What's that?
I make you uncomfortable?..What of propriety...?
I just offered you a platform of wealth and notoriety!

Who do you think you are!?
Do you know who I am?!
All of Hollywood
is under my command!

Nothing is free,
there is always a price!
It is selfish of you
to think otherwise!

The buttons placed
on your blouse
will determine what
I will allow.

A song that's been sung,
the lyrics don't change.
You must pay the piper
for fortune and fame.

I can make or break
I do it all the time.
I have movie producers
waiting in line.

If you don't succumb
to my desire,
I will find another girl
to hire.

You will never be employed
it will be such a shame.
You'll become a pariah,
with a soiled name.

The choice is yours...
Do you want to be a celebrity?
It starts on this couch..
what's it going to be?

My therapy is chemical,
I go for weekly sessions.
My artery is femoral,
the site of my injection.

The venom attacks the mitosis
of my splitting cell.
Dyspepsia takes over
like a spinning carousel.