Heads Or Tails
There are cracks in this world too deep
for voices to escape from.
You know this.
Your toes curl around the edges of them,
you’ve clung to the sides of them.
Fingers scoured on the cliff faces twisted into snarls
with your cheek pressed against narrow eyes
who know this is not your place
is not your time.
They have peered beneath the flesh,
found the truth of you.
That you are not of first quality
but of the seconds shop.
Discount product to be discounted
when you open your mouth
because the words will always be cheap,
cracked, broken, and miss-formed.
This facade is ceramics,
fired too hot at the beginning,
brittle now in the middle,
unstable near the end.
You will leave nothing but dust
and hollow sounds in your wake.
In your mouth there are earthquakes
disguised as whispers.
I can see you cowering
each time the world trembles
at your tongue,
convinced their shudders
are the warning shots
before the roar of disapproval,
instead of a thunder
that comes with applause
so deafening the crowd screams
until the sky’s ceiling shatters into pieces
and the atmosphere is alight with fire
so bright we can see everything
in colours you have painted
while you prayed we wouldn’t look
at canvases you tried to shield,
believing they were not worthy
or every breath inside this room.
You cannot see the depth
your echo leaves upon this world.
Day Two’s prompt was to write a poem that plays with voices and this was the second poem I’ve written today that tries to hit that mark. The first was nowhere close, this one isn’t much better in my opinion but it’s as close as I’m going to get. I really hope some of you lovely readers like it.
