Shannon Lippert
Trouble Shooter
if you drop them into the wishing-well
who knows if it will make a sound?
have you ever seen clearly
out of eyes so jagged? smoky like Seattle
your world buggered without sleep
or is that not a polite term for it anymore?
the news is all about girls with pinchable cheeks
but your gray walls are littered with women with talons
it’s not possible to hide from them
not with your pink flesh and bad habits breaking
they were peeking through the fingers and
you were made out of their sharp hands
they danced with you, called on you
like an overworked goddess, they knew
you were trouble when you walked in the door
when we said take aim for the stars
you should have known we were coming for you
they joke, laughter, these cruel little courtesies they do for you
they couldn’t quite figure you out
it’s only when you put your finger on it
pointing to the parts of you that once a woman might have adored
that you realize you’re speaking another language
one that harpies dare not whisper
and only sparrows understand
one perches on your shoulder, and she has such pretty eyelashes
coaxing, looking up at you,
you beg for a glimpse of their chirpy sweet voices
drowning in the decay you’ve surrounded yourself with
thinking you might be like a crow, littered
with shiny things.
Shannon Lippert is a poet, playwright, and performing artist. Her poetry was featured in episode 55 of the Glittership podcast, and has been published in The Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, among other journals.
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