Broken Dolls

Broken Dolls

1.

They enter the skin of painted leopards

to reveal mysteries, voodoo magic.

Then they gaze at the world from broken constellations,

sitting directly across temptation

and tittle-tattle about retiring in style.

2.

She looks for her dealer,

keeping a vigilant eye on Icarus

ready to escape into exile.

Suddenly she’s one

with the concrete.

3.

She doesn’t want to be a calendar queen.

She wants to be a doll and spend her day in silence.

She has body art;

cranes floating through pines,

lustrous yellow leaves.

4.

She was happy to bend, raise her hand on camera,

but men and silicon made her sick.

Now she swims silently in heaven with a blue mantis,

sings praises to her king.

5.

Nothing shocks anyone anymore.  Callous is the fad.

It is no wonder some end up living on the street.

Ten million baby girls swallow sand every decade

before their first scream while Barbie plays

with medical technology.

6.

She started her career collecting porno 

hanging it in her bedroom.  She’s a woman of gold,

a character from a Joaquin Sabina song; Barbie Super Star.

When night is weighty with desolation

she swims

When her voice leaves me untouched

she flutters

When I hunger for at least one reprimand

she stops begging

When the sky forces her lips to lose the smile

she shivers

When I glare at the portrait of her parting life

she wonders:

Did I ever have a real friend?