Dance My Little Mannequin

This is what happens when I'm feeling angry and sarcastic...for God's sake, people, why does everyone put on such an act?

 

Dance my little mannequin

 

Put on a pretty show

 

For all the people watching you

 

The people who don’t know

 

That your lovely, laughing eyes

 

And your pleasant, painted smile

 

Are nothing but a lie you use to feed your own denial

 

 

 

Sing my little paper doll

 

So all the world can hear

 

That pretty, wordless, tuneless dirge

 

You sing to hide the fear

 

That if you cease your senseless song

 

And use a voice that’s real

 

Then they will cease to play along, and learn how you truly feel

 

 

 

Ah, my little marionette

 

So polished and so prim

 

But all that sawdust in your head

 

Has made you rather dim

 

And your baby button nose

 

Has grown to quite a length

 

If you’d stop lying, it wouldn’t grow; but you don’t have the strength.

Reviews

[Silent Kim aka mizmetap..]

Very creative, orginal and full of sad truth. all through life we put on a an act and live until the next performance. It's easier that way, it lets those around us off the hook. I'm sorry, I'm so happy for you, oh I feel bad, they can walk away with just a simple nicety of aknowledgement.

Excellent work, thanks for the entry in to my contest and I wish you the best of luck.

[Shawn Drake]

*taps meter on his desk*

Brilliant. A biting, sarcastic, caustic, and utterly deserved indictment of the world we live in. It manages to be so bilious and yet keep a sort of sardonic levity; I chuckle as I am mocked...truly a difficult balance to strike.

My favorite lines, beyond the shadow of a doubt:

Ah, my little marionette

So polished and so prim

But all that sawdust in your head

Has made you rather dim

Bloody perfect, dearie. Now don't you dare stop.

[Kaitlyn M.]

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH. Beth, this is fantastic poetry, and if you don't submit this to the Promethean next year I'm going to have to throttle you. The meter, the word choice...gods, this is all superb.

[D. Christian Baker]

ouch. well, If it aint Beth's angry side. well. It's very good. You effectively attack the dress-up mentality of modern society. the images of the mannequin, as the proverbial puppet on the strings, is accurate and... real. you're effect is impressive, even with so few words. the puppet master, though never pointed out, becomes irrelevantly when compared to the puppet. I particularly like the way you were able to pull so many different ideas and images, such as Pinocchio, into it. damn fine work.

[Beth Holian]

It bounces, er, that is to say, it has a precise flowing rhythm which matches up nicely with the point you are trying to convey in the context of the poem. It really portrays your subtle anger.

Keep writing! I look forward to reading more! :)

[Wulfstan Crumble]

You are right, modern society is fake and idolises fakeness. It also idolises materialism and beauty over depth and feeling. How long will it be until only beautiful people will become published writers? Celebrity dirges are already easier to publish than the usual genius of real writers. I did love your poem for the way in which you dealt with that subject matter. Creating a dancing mannequin. The mannequin is obviously the plastic idolised form of beauty, or a clone of how we should be, and those telling it to dance are either the sarcastic voices of real people cast out of society or the evil commands of those who perpetuate the fakeness of modern society. Soon i will be launching Poem of the Week 3, please do enter it when the competition is up and running.