28¢

Finely wrought Tang gold,
Vivid vermilion
Lustrous petals of flesh,
Capricious Chinese cravats.

Carassius auratus
Ostentatious title,
Sneering, peeling price
Barbarity under a buck.

Translucent prison,
Hermetically sealed sea.
Scrutinizing spectators
Leave oily indifference.

An existential epiphany
Dances out of reach,
Snipped up by gaping mouths
Defecated illusions.

Agitated onyx irises,
Dark gaping wounds
Stark haunting specters
Pierce mellifluous tranquility.

Plunged into the depths,
Enveloped by crippling insight
Prometheus upon the rock
Only knowing what is not.

                 Not simulated seaweed
                 Not pink pebbles
                 Not the plastic Parthenon
                 Not 28¢

Creeping lashes of shame,
Half-moons cut into palms
Beseeching eyes see nothing,
Sole eloquent silence.


Megan Poole