"Beauty & Vermin"

Beauty with her wild eyes

Black with old regrets

Tired from the season's harvests

Alone up in her web.

She rolls her eyes and bats her lashes

Her palm stuck to her face.

Bored from watching all the flies

Drop like fools from outer space.

This one's dumb, that one's dull,

That fly's too insecure.

That fly's cold, this one's too old...

How many will she lure?

Beauty's a sight, so why the scare?

Standing firmly on eight feet.

Swatting fly after fly, cowardice in their eyes,

Each one accepting defeat.

Oh, widow Beauty,

Crawling her way to becoming quite the wretch.

Wondering how many more flies

Within her web of sweet lies

She'll have to devour like the rest.

-SQ 2015