Poetry by MADDY SNEEP

Poetry & Prose Contest Second Runner Up

SCAPEGOAT

I invented a man from generations ago

that I blame for the grayness

of these cubicle walls

their color was stolen

to paint his cheeks rosy

as he sucked the world’s meaning

through a silver straw

his bloated belly

full of ocean water

while fish flop on barren floors

and shrivel and writhe under a sun

that he would have drank, too,

if he could

THE COMPOSER

The composer does not carry pen or paper

it comes to him on a whim. Careless, he’s left

to write his magnum opus in flesh.

I hum the tune at night,

it keeps me awake

EMPTY SPACE

I once grieved the empty space that cradled my body

a safety blanket of thin air,

densely swaddled

He gives me his love in home-cooked dinners

my stomach swells – a gift for being human

the empty space between my thighs

fills with soft skin

tender moments

I’m worlds lighter now

OZ

Dreaming in color

I awaken in grayscale

there are no witches or wizards

lions or bears –

a lone hero

is the villain

is the maker

is the viewer

days drift by in 2D

I watch my body through a TV screen

I click my heels – left hand meets right hand in prayer –

but still can’t find my way home

I sink into the pores of my mattress

PIGGYBACK

I know a sky that’s only stars

a sun that never burns –

The meek little girl

I carry on my back

knows only the light

of a computer screen

you won’t believe the view, I say.

that’s why I want to show you.

the backseat of a school bus

on field trip day

she hangs back with muffled anticipation

she’s skin and bones

but weighs two tons

when my shoulders start to ache

I hold her by the elbow

and drag her wearily behind me

she bleeds as flesh meets gravel

and doesn’t say a word

through struggled breath I tell her,

I can’t carry you much longer

she nods in silent understanding

I don’t have to see her

or feel it to know

I find a soft bed of soil

where she might one day bloom

I lay her down while the sky above

shrinks to make room