Tableau
By Anonymous, Council Bluffs, IA
Wouldn’t it be nice
To have a tea party?
I get the tablewith six china cups
And six china saucers
For the cookies andcakes
Much sweeter than I
And I smile
And pose
Pass thesugar and try
To be witty
Though fatigue settles in
This is agame of dress-up
A game of hide and seek
Where I hide myfeelings
And they search for something
Good inside of me
Downpast the superficial
Deep in the skin
Past the burninghunger
To let the blade back in
Beneath the blood andtissue
Inside the skeleton
Still lies that old friend
We bothtry to ignore
I smile
And that grin seems real enough
YetI’m still waiting
To wake up from my nightmare
To curl up inmy own room
Instead of this hospital bed
This dollhouse thatI’m in
Where they bend and feed me
And pretend I’mstill real
Must smile
Must laugh
Must pretend
Make themthink this doll
Is worth their care
Make them think thisdoll
Cannot feel
Their poking and prodding
At my back
Sit upstraight
Take your meds
They’ll cure the sickness in yourhead
Mom and Dad will be so proud
With your plastic face smashedin
Better to be fake than cut your skin
Better to play house withall your friends
Better to let the doctor pull your strings
Betterto dance and sing and then
Smile and giggle and make light ofthings
Than to ever let them in
|
