A rigid framework
that provides protection,
structure surrounded by skin
that encloses vital organs,
attachment points for muscles
that grant leverage;
source of
our own blood.

A long dark tunnel
with flashing green lights at the end
leading you to a large chamber –
an auditorium
where on a stage
a tall human skeleton dances,
the sound of bones on wood
clip clop, clip clop
a wild frenzied dance
hot and dry without sweat.

Both fused and individual bones
supplemented by
ligaments, tendons, cartilage;
a scaffold to support organs
protecting brain, lungs,
and heart.

You see strings;
this skeleton does not really dance
each move is the pull of a string
a clever shift here
an adroit sweep there
all done with skill and grace
by a hidden manipulator;
so you step closer to the stage
and follow the strings upward
into the shadows,
you see another skeleton
peering down at you
with empty eye sockets
that glow green.

– matt at shadow of iris

This entry was posted on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 1:12 pm and is filed under poem. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.