That Was Then This Is Now

bitter crackling of seashells, the sand sinking beneath her feet, the tide boiling with screaming lobsters, nettled nightmares, even as the calm umbrella’d shore teases sanity. a white dress believes all it’s told. the groom grips a broomstick. measures years with red and black lipstick. holds the neck lightly, but still, the chastising wring, the storm chasing, the wind whipping, shatterproof windows hang by their hinges, flapping. sour-aromatic shells on splintered floor seen through binoculars, wide lense of a buffoonery cartoon, desperate tongue licks to adhere two or three pieces. on her knees, wooden needles stitch back and forth zigzag, face plant of contusions. twilight brings stars, gathers the haloed angels in her arms, tosses them into the dark sky. the wings awaken an army. a scroll becomes their carpet of stairs, studded with answered prayers. her groom with sparkling teeth, soft rose petals pressed in her open palm, a diamond-eyed fool - she loves him. 1/20/2019 Sponsor - Silent One