as the evening melancholy descends
a toxic dialogue with the Zombie Bride ensues
so I gather, says this Ghost of Girlish Wishes Past
you have been directed to failure by your belief
in the hallucination that good luck will come to you
if you hold fast to the inane dream of success
that you say has been in your bloodstream
from the time you were a baby
you believed it would be cricket
if your most delusional hopes for success descended from the skies
by the time you were thirty-five
you're nearly twenty-five years beyond thirty-five now
and still, the handsome prince has not seen fit
to ascend your stairs and sweep you off your feet
he'd pop more than a button if he tried
for by now, he's slipped beyond mature into elderly
and you are much too fat
to be carried away
by anything smaller than a dump truck
oh, do fuck off, I replied
these days I prefer pies I've baked to pie in the sky
really, they're much more tasty
now, either sit down for a slice
or piss off into the night
I've no time for you or your diatribe
I've pie to eat and stories to write
and these days I know that it's my right
to live my life free of abuse
from sanctimonious dullards like you
the Zombie Bride turned and huffed away
"don't come back," I called.
"you're not welcome to stay."
sadly, I know she won't be gone long
She's like a worn-out record playing the same tired song
these days her words don't have as much power
still, she sits waiting for the hour
when she can get back under my skin
and slowly destroy me from within
because part of me
will always believe
she's right,
I'm nothing,
and my chances have all passed me by
this will always be
my reality
until the day my spirit flies free
and maybe even long after
~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~
notes and prompts used
The zombie bride is a metaphor for the two big dreams every girl is supposed to have: be Pretty In A Certain Way and Marry a Handsome Prince.
Ornery Owl says, "fuck it, who needs that nonsense?"
Ornery Owl really believes those girlhood dreams she learned to place above all else, including her own well-being, are nonsense. The Zombie Bride haunts her house and may always do so, but Ornery has learned that such ghosts can't harm her unless she lets them under her skin.
For today's prompt, use at least three of the following six words in your poem (bonus points if you can use all six):
button
gather
hold
not
sweep
toxic
baby
bloodstream
cricket
dialogue
directed
good
hallucination
luck
stairs
thirty-five
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