marionette

maroon wool sweater embellished with specks of dust

blood stained cheeks upon cracked porcelain

ever so slightly frizzed chocolate hair

she thought she was beautiful

her imperfections making her all the more so

no one else felt the same way as her

they only liked the ones

with clean plastic faces 

slick synthetic threads of gold

prim lavish gowns of emerald velvet with swirls of rich purple

her beautiful full smile was more candid than all of the others

her warm eyes promising 

infinite rainy afternoons of stories and fun

yet they only saw cracks and subpar clothes 

laden with dirt and laced with holes

they said she was old and ugly and dirty and beyond repair 

and moved to select a doll of artificial perfection

despite the web of cracks on the outside

she was never truly broken until then

Son

pans of caramelized onions and 

greasy meat pierogies

trays of chocolate eclairs

buckets of sweet iced tea

piled atop the kitchen table

Father never once questioned Son why he ate this much for lunch

Son was still sad about Mother’s death

food was his only coping mechanism

to fill the gaping hole in his unmended heart

Father slapped a false smile on his face as he baked slabs of thick fudge

and wiped up mounds of candied apples for Son

who was busily shoving handfuls of crisps into his face

if Father had just stopped to ask why…

Son’s broken heart would’ve been 

patched together 

properly

with love 

rather than fat

summertime

she stuck her head out the window

wind teasing her dark wispy hair, sunbeams dancing on her black sunglasses

his eyes sparkled as he blissfully tapped the leather steering wheel

occasionally glancing at her

she slowly took his hand in hers and held it tightly

their hearts soared and melted and fluttered and flipped and rushed

they glanced at each other with looks of joy painted over their faces

and turned away, both blushing love beyond belief

they drove in silence past 

salty waves crashing against the jagged rocks

vineyard vines loaded with fresh, juicy grapes

endlessly rolling green hills

they stopped at a pond filled with waterlilies 

they talked and smiled and laughed

shared their truths, their hopes, their fears

confessed their love for each other 

under the black satin sky dotted with diamonds stars

for a while, they went on more wild midnight adventures

often just sitting silently 

and taking in the sweet smell of summer rain

the healing of old wounds left by family and friends and society soon stopped

they started to mask their truths

not wanting to burden one another out of fear

of losing the other to their own problems

they knew that this wouldn’t last more than a summer

but they deeply wanted the sweet bliss to last a lifetime

soon the lies enveloped their midnight lilies

and the only thing left was two broken souls