Marionette

Upon the crystal stage
She will dance and she will sing
As the marionette
Controlled by puppeteer strings.

“Dance little puppet! Dance!”
The puppeteer screams. “Be kind.
Be perfect and pretty!
Be sweet. Lay aside your mind!”

As the curtain closes
And the platform is swept clean
The doll lies listless,
Empty and void of being.

Out of sight and broken
She vanishes to vapor
Floating toward a dream
Silent and lucid, she soars.

Through a crystal window
Lies a beautiful creature,
Happy, strong, and naïve
She envies this heart so pure.

So perfect, so full of life,
In such a kind presence
She glows in glory and
Muddles out an existence.

She’s freed from binding strings
That torture and tear apart.
She is free from violence
Which lashes a bruised heart.

No more crimson stains are
To be found upon her gown
No more bleeding pillows
From tight, swollen lips will drown.

From the east Sol dances
To awaken a new day.
Her fantasy shattered.
Sanctuary gone away.

The stage is quickly set
For yet another dark show.
Strings tightened, deception,
Yet, no one will ever know.

©Pamela N. Brown
August 21, 2008