Fly On The Wall In The Puritan Home (Silent War)

The long, empty darkness
voids every unwritten truth,
so I write it out from the blankness of abuse.

A bleak puritan way,
austerity for posterity,
a crawling, hairy mass;
but how could she endure this
gripped between her claws.

The walls are speaking,
the wallpaper roses laughing;
they are looking on, looking on
how can they go on looking on.

How are they not speaking
in ways people can hear.
Wars are unfolding as they sit,
tiny legs cling to them
scrambling, shouting
in their own unrecognizable language
and one falls onto the floor, shrieking.
Yet no one hears, no one notices,
no one understands.

How can this be a form of love,
this tenuous life,
how can this be a viable outcome,
this dusty floor,
this deafening silence.

     .....

#SharonOlds

( a non-entry )