Monday, February 27, 2012

Three/Six

First.
Prim, proper.
Righteous.
Good Christian family, brought up right.
Not spared the rod,
The fear of God
Instilled in every night.
In bed by nine.
And everything
- everything!
will be fine.
She - yes, she, with original sin,
Shouldn't open the window.
She'll let the demons in.

But she's got a friend.
Cherry-red lipstick,
Open coat -
she's got the goods alright.
Clothing skin-tight.
Nothing to the imagination.
And nothing keeps her out.
She's got an infestation,
A cool rain after drought.
Her father locks the door,
Her father keeps her poor.
But the cherry lipstick friend
will always have a key,
and she's come, oh she's come.
To set the good girl free.

---------------------------------------

Second.
Hedonistic.
Likes his vodka.
Bottles of water with the labels scraped off.
A good boy at heart.
Morals, ethics, a sense of right and wrong.
It's a start.
He'll turn his ear to a laugh or a song.
He'll drink himself stupid and he won't stay away.
But he's ultimately wonderful.
In the literal way.
The world is beautiful,
Twisty-up thrilling.
Comes into focus
When everything's spilling.
He's carefree and pure,
Not in flesh but in soul.
He's so self-assured,
And he's happy.

But he's got a friend.
All business.
Snappy suit, though.
He's really quite dour,
And shows up at night.
He speaks with a glower,
But his eyes sparkle bright.
He pins our good boy,
And insists that he write.
The hours slip by.
The tide can't be turned,
Business is cold, and harsh, and wrong.
And it all pours through him
and out
as a song.
Our boy's seen the Devil,
There's no turning back.
Our good friend, that devil.
He's on the attack.

------------------------

Third.
Timid.
Shy, not retiring.
He's there for everything.
Dances, gigs, parties.
He'll never speak, or laugh, or sing.
He's a quiet little thing.
But he's got a pair of eyes on him.
He'll watch it all, watch them move.
Watch them laugh, be sick, be smooth.
People just assume he's dim.
But he's not, not at all.
He's got a mind like a firework,
But he never stood tall.
He's watched all their goodness,
He's judged all their sin.
But he won't let himself,
dive right on in.

But he's got a friend.
And she is beautiful.
She can put people at ease
With a word or a smile.
She's not just a tease,
She'll stay for a while.
She's got all the love
In the world deep inside.
And she'll let it all out,
She's got nothing to hide.
But she knows that he's lost,
And he feels so alone,
But she'll wrap him up,
And she'll take him home.
She'll take all the love that he's scared to give.
She'll take all the words that he hoards up to live.
She'll wrap them up tightly and parcel them out.
For she's God, and she's beauty,
and she's made to give.

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