Image courtesy Orion Pictures
People will say we’re in love.
- Hannibal Lecter, The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
the boy wanted to want // the girl coveted his cocoon //
how he morphed into anything // she had a hunger for
any word that she could chew through // right there //
like a buffet of bruises // forgot to ask permission to cut
him open // again // slaughtered scales in the name of
sacrifice // again // clipped the moths wings & wore
them like a welcome // how they grew uneven // how
they grew divided // tore through him like a broken
language // bite by bite // he didn’t react // not really //
bit his tongue before he could speak // but had he opened
his mouth // he would’ve said that she’d never get quite
full // not really //
of anything but herself //
of anything but mercy
Alicia Turner holds an MA in English and is a grant writer & storyteller. She can be found writing confessional, conversational poetry in an over-priced apartment somewhere in WV. Her work is featured or forthcoming in Four Lines (4lines), CTD's ‘Pen-2-Paper’ project, Voicemail Poems, FreezeRay Poetry, Luna Luna, Defunkt Magazine, Sybil Journal, The Daily Drunk, ExPat Press, Rejection Letters Press, Screen Door Review, J Journal Literary Magazine, Sledgehammer Lit, Screenshot Lit, Taint Taint Taint Magazine, Cartridge Lit., Space City Underground, époque press, among others."