Diaphanous silk skirts glide gracefully around tiny ankles attached to perfect legs.
And the string quartet plays in the background.
Strong hands encircle a tightly cinched waste
And breath brushes against a neck.

Then the clock strikes midnight or the alarm sounds.
The spell breaks, totalitarian reality invades.
And dreams flutter away, evasive and light,
Like diaphanous silk skirts.

Do you remember that night the end of senior year?
We drove and got drunk off my dad’s stolen beer.
I sat, sand in my toes and wind in my hair,
Glanced up and caught your stare.
“You’re beautiful,” you said.
I smiled and blushed, shyly looking away.
But you sat down beside me
And kissed my lips softly.

Do you remember that night the end of senior year?
I’ve never been so free or so free of fear.
We sat, hand in hand, our souls laid bare.
I missed curfew that night, but didn’t care.
“You’re beautiful,” I said.
You smiled and laughed, boldly keeping my eye.
So I leaned in close to you
And kissed your lips softly.

The little girl stood alone in the wood,
Blonde curls tumbled o'er her disheveled red hood.
The stranger approached and offered to help.
She let him direct her, unlearned in life.
But he caused her and her family nothing but strife.

The young woman stood alone in the tower,
Blonde curls tumbled o'er her face oh so dour.
The stranger approached, and offered to help.
She had learned her lesson the first time though.
She pulled her hair up and locked the window.

In my mind I am a dancer,
Gracefully pirouetting.
My lithe body painting a picture on the floor,
Slender arm extended.
So enchanting that gravity gives up it’s hold on me,
and my leap sails like a ship among the stars,
and I might never fall.

In the mirror I am a fishwife,
Dully hawking.
My thick body smelling of the rotten wares,
Meaty arm extended.
So proletarian that dreams deny me,
and my eyes deaden like a *****’s among johns,
and I might never look up.

In my mind I am champion,
Boldly crusading.
My strong body leaving a sea of blood upon the field,
Sword arm extended.
So formidable that fate fears to tempt me,
and my cuts fall like the wrath of God upon the sinners,
and I might never be vanquished.

In the mirror I am a *******,
Feebly waiting.
My broken body seeming more useless everyday,
Emaciated arm extended.
So inadequate that movement massacres me,
and my lungs constrict like a boa around its meal
and I might never survive.

“Words, words, they’re all we have to go on.”

Words and feelings and thoughts
Blurred after too many shots.
A promise whispered in my ear,
Compliments for no one else to hear.
Search his eyes
Looking for lies.

Words and feelings and thoughts,
My stomach tying in knots.
A tongue pushed in between my lips
Hands exploring down my hips.
Search my skin
Looking for a way in.

I look across the room and see a girl.
She's staring off into the distance,
too jaded to even see the room she's in.
Dark blue circles, under the dark blue pools of her eyes,
are the only souvenirs of her late night.

I look across the room and see a man.
He's leaned back in his chair,
too tired to even open his eyes.
Dark blue bruises, on either knee,
are the only memories of his night in prayer.

I look across the room and see an old woman,
She's sloped forward away from the chair,
too hunched backed to even sit up straight.
Dark blue needles, wrapped around dark blue yarn
are the only sign she's still alive.

I look in the mirror and see myself,
I'm wide-eyed looking for a way out,
too lost even to blink.
Dark blue thoughts circle like dark blue vultures,
haunting my every move.

Long, lazy summer days
Drift into summer nights
The air cools
The wind blows
The stars come out
And I sit and watch
Wondering.