Open your mouth
The tongue rolls out like an old arab carpet
Spitting venom like raindrops
I bathe in the sweat of your brow
Howling like a helpless animal, I turn my back
The warm breath filling up the air
You say I should hum a tune or two
You say I should have an affair
You say I should cut my hair
I name our unborn children
Mary Elizabeth, and Lily, and Jacob
And count sheep in our dreams
While the overboiled milk spills.

I am the almost
Tucked away opaque china

Once I was a chandelier
My chiseled features gold

Packed in tissue pristine and precious
Hung up and valuable
Muse to all, talked over

They still stare, but my colors have bled
I cause no wonder, stir no emotion
No longer do they congregate in awe

Brushed off, eyes turned blind
Solitary and silent I wait.