In observance of anticipated jail time
A family staged a masquerade
A bon voyage drama
And I was one of the players.
With an added leaf a proscenium stage
We gathered round the grand table
Shifting in our gallery seats
Waiting
For our tragic minstrel’s entrance.
From the wings swept the ashen faced actor
Dull eyes performing a mute prologue
Our unrehearsed Punchinello trying
To make merry of this solemn show.
With cellophane smiles of thespian ineffectuality
We timidly asked about his upcoming isolation
While a shutter clicked a foreboding rhythm
And floodlights flashed from Father’s camera.
In bleating bravado he crowed his monologue
A Faustian tale of a brawl in his home.
His nose and lips were gone, man.
I had blood all over my friggin’ face.
So much in the limelight of his own applause
He didn’t notice his daughter’s eyes widening with fear.
She begged for a rewriting of the script.
There was blood Mommy?
Her mother became a dramaturge before our eyes.
It was only lipstick, hon.
Silly boys playing with lipstick.
Not real.
And the four-year-old
Half believed this libretto of lies.
While the rest of us sat nervously.
Tapping at that extra leaf
Afraid of what the next act might bring.
About Laurie: The author of Forests Secrets and Finding Joy as well as The Pharaoh’s Cry, Portal Rift, Persistence of Memory, Kidnapped Smile, and Dragon Sky of the fantasy series The Artania Chronicles, Laurie Woodward is also a screenwriter who co-authored Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies and she was a collaborator on the popular anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. Bullied as a child, Laurie is now an award-winning peace consultant, poet, and blogger who helps teach children how to avoid arguments, stop bullying, and maintain healthy friendships. She writes on the Central Coast of California. More about her work can be found at Author Laurie Woodward — Next Chapteria.net
Laurie Woodward 