Chandeliers of childhood
Clink above out heads
The crystals glitter and gleam
Singing ballads about
the day we first met

But my ribcage is tattooed
with your criticisms
And my sharp tongue
has left crisscross needlework
Patterns that trace your wrists

We both dangle pearl earrings
from our eye sockets
As our daggers flicker endlessly
in our gaping mouths

I watch you
Stuff your ears with cotton *****
From the stack on desk
Collected meticulously
To block out my metallic clashes

My left hand tries to take the
cotton out of my own ears
While my right ear stubbornly
Stuffs them back in

And my dagger makes such a clamor
That my pearl earrings turn to necklaces
Patchwork lungs burning
From the effort
I hope the strands break
So perhaps a pearl or two
Can roll to your dainty toes

But the chandelier's cracking
above our crowned heads
And both of us are too busy with cotton
to climb the gleaming ladder
to repair it.