they laugh

they laugh

 

odd little girl shivers from cold

 

schooldays begin like earthquakes;

sudden and violent jolts

 

then it hurts even to look up

 

eyelashes flap like broken wings

nobody ever flies away 

 

fingers like rose-colored sausages

flipping blonde doll hair nervously

nobody ever looks like that

 

emotional bend:

paperback Bible spine

snaps under weight of confusion

 

unconsciousness pulled to the surface

hisses, growls and dives again

before sense can be made of its face

 

skinless lips tick, but can’t smile

beneath slabs of concrete depression

 

distant laughter punctures organs

body coils like a shrimp on the summer sidewalk

 

wrists cut to the bone

she’s not going to wake up

nightmares give way to sleep

 

still

from shadowed corners

in hushed b*****d tones

they laugh    

she hears

 

nobody ever flies away 

 

Reviews

[V.B.]

See, I am truly, sincerely hoping that you are crossposting these from a stash you've got elsewhere and not just writing them all today. If all of these are honestly brand new, I swear you must be some kind of demon. I don't even fortuitously stumble into this many kinds of clever in a year, let alone churn them out at will during the course of a day.

[MuSe Ampoule]

Biting and powerful, this definitely speaks to all who suffer ridicule as kids and run to the permanent fix. I liked how this shows that the permanent fix is no solution at all.
"wrists cut to the bone
she’s not going to wake up
nightmares give way to sleep"

..."from shadowed corners
in hushed b*****d tones
they laugh"

[Misty Blue Eyes]

this is so powerful and unbelievable. thank you so much for this poem it was heartfelt

[sayandeep kundu]

"They Laugh
She hears

Nobody ever flies away"

Fascinating stuff..

[freelancejouster]

"nobody ever looks like that" who are you to whisper of my mind? i have shivers, here, and the water's creeping up behind my eyes. ugly, ravaged, being laughed at... this is wonderful.

[An owl on the moon]

Been too long since I've been by. This is exquisite... There is that darkness that hovers over.. the pain that moves through each line... the laughter that cuts and scratches... I knew that laughter too well...

[Kerry O'Connor]

You have managed to capture the teenage need to belong, the continual focus on outer appearance, the pain of rejection and the ultimate act of self-hatred... all this in a complex, abstract depiction of the thoughts, emotions and implied actions of your subject. My words can show what you have done but not how on earth you did it... whence these brilliant thought-patterns emerge... or the empathy of the human heart that delivers them.

[jenniewren (J.W. Bouwma..]

jesus. the usually trite word "powerhouse" comes to mind immediately. as does "emotional onslaught". this is one of those pieces that absolutely breaks your reader..

nobody ever flies away.. goddamn. god-f*****g-damn..

i'm so proud to be your friend..

[OT]

oh God this is a hard hitting piece right here - the impact runs a blade over the heartstrings - so sad - I love "paperback Bible spine
snaps under weight of confusion" - darn you and your epic green eye leaving descriptions!!

[Crowley]

God damn you.....this is 'Master Class" Mr. Fisher. A walk off home run and everyone wants to slap you on the a*s. Brilliant.