China Doll

It's the quiet ones you have to worry about, right? The kid who goes to school hiding bruises, the valedictorian closet alcoholic, the sports star...

Ask the porcelain doll

Why her eyes are so cold

She'll tell you a tale

Of perfect, flawless, skin

And a polished smile

Pretty hair on a hollow head

If you listen to her closely

You might hear the waves

Crashing on the rocky shore

Smoothing all the pebbles

With one in her shoe

That will never stay out

She sits motionless

On her little grey shelf

Afraid to break

Her pretty porcelain skin

Author's Note

Thoughts, let me hear them. Critiques, those are pretty cool too.

Reviews

[Ama May Cooper]

I read this as if it had a double meaning and not a happy one, the obvious being a porcelin doll , merely a household item minding its time, in flawless perfection... never speaking a word adn never moving to object to her placement. But the under lying hoensty in this is much deeper , much more real and human someone who hides behind there perfection deleves into it almost and seems to get lost within it... forgeting there own identiy and become much alike a house hold item lieing on a shelf, flawless without objection.

Lovely piece of work.

[Buniheart]

Wow, i like the mystery its creating!

[Kruppz]

"It's the quiet ones you have to worry about, right? The kid who goes to school hiding bruises.." That reminds me of my own early school days. The kid is me!

"She'll tell you a tale
Of perfect, flawless, skin
And a polished smile"
There are some hurtful past incidents which work as negative motivation and bring out the best within. Which inspire us to strive for better. IF I read between the lines, they speak to me of how people try to hide their hurt.

"With one in her shoe"
I'd like to think of it (something valuable) as a sole weakness that can potentially shatter her otherwise perfection. And that's the reason why "That will never stay out".

"Afraid to break
Her pretty porcelain skin"
These lines inspire a fresh interpretation. I think the foundation is crucial - a universally pervasive principle. People who don't know why they do what they do, why they think what they think and who can't trace the root of it all are the ones who'll have difficulty defending themselves. There's no depth to their skins. Their bones are hollow. The result is brittle skin which needs 24/7 conscious protection. This is true for all, the degrees vary.

This is a good poem by my definition. The purpose is discernible. The expression, flawless. Witty lines. A simple poem that makes one think.

[Seshat Nidaba]

I liked this, though I have to admit it made me think of a lot of plastic human beings much the same.

In a world that glamorizes youth and artificiallity, one wonders at the new standards of what is beautiful.