Angry Scissors

©Stacie Sandall

Three pairs of angry scissors smirk,

dripping with sweat.

Warm, wet pencils stand and salute

the fallen piece of paper they once called friend.

Ramblings 2

©Stacie Sandall

Bread grunts

as peanut butter sits on him,

laughing,

pinching his cheeks,

and giving him an Indian burn.

Dust

©Stacie Sandall

Screaming, naked dust

darted down the hallway soaking wet.

A raving mob of drenched rags swiped angrily.

Dust lunged under the rug

and giggled.

The mob grunted

and stomped away in retreat.

Flight

©Stacie Sandall

Dragons danced up in my head,

like blades of grass in my flower bed.

They changed directions in the breeze

and soared above my mental trees.

They sang to me of castles vast,

of villages and peasants past.

They whispered words of a soothing spell,

and spoke their tales of knights, as well.

As the sun descended from above my eyes,

the dragons and I said our last good-byes.

Off in the air, they flew back home,

and left me unafraid to roam.

Nine Hours in Front of a Computer Screen

©Stacie Sandall

The blue mouse pad looks like an animal was chewing on it.

Some guy I didn't know I knew

is talking of things I forgot I did.

My hat is squeezing the top of my head into a point.

A girl resembling a blimp is floating from her keyboard.

Now the room is empty, except for all the stuff.

The whir of the farthest ceiling fan

is drowning out the nearest.

The sugar from a warm soda is running through my veins.

I have to go pee.

Fly Away

©Stacie Sandall

I like to watch them play,

dancing,

twirling,

screaming in the cold, unforgiving wind.

They toss and turn.

Up they go without a sound to the tops of the trees.

For a brief moment,

I swear they sprouted eyes.

I think they are laughing inside.

Then they fly away.

Listen

©Stacie Sandall

Listen to the shadow,

the little broken-winged blackbird

chirping,

laying in the wet dandelions,

soft and delicious.

Meow.

Sky Is Falling

©Stacie Sandall

The amber sunset twists down the sky

while they lay motionless beneath the clouds,

their finely sculpted bodies

woven like unattended vines.

With eyes of laughter and mouths of pain,

they wait for the sky to fall.

Silver shadows climb damp branches

as darkness thickens.

Surging clouds shake the night.

The waning moon trembles above,

reflecting nature's motives.

Stones beneath aching backs

fight against the burden,

while blades of grass wave above

to the night air song.

Cold earth dances atop their faces like sleet

as their sky rains down.

Shed the Light

©Stacie Sandall

Unleashed memories

blacken moving sky.

Ash lay crisp

against the moon.

Remaining light

melting time,

shedding light,

sloughing skywards.

Eminent

©Stacie Sandall

I walk in the wind; there is no air.

I feel their presence; there is no one there.

I do what they tell me; no sound to be heard.

Body so young, mind yet matured.

I speak my peace; I make no sound.

I cannot be lost; I cannot be found.

They take me on journeys; I stay on one land.

I write these words; they control my hand.

Undiscovered

©Stacie Sandall

near the ice-bundled river

where my lifeless body lays

I am forgotten

skin hardened

lips fractured

trees crack under weighty snow

foraging fauna wander aimlessly

unaware of my empty eyes

gazing awkwardly into the colorless sky

the dogs have come and gone

the sun has risen and set uncounted times

skin slips soft

trees crack with spring thaw

near the rushing river

where my lifeless body lays

I am forgotten

Run, Little One

©Stacie Sandall

Run, little one, to find your place

before the wrath of time can scar your face.

Run, little one. The light is gone.

Too late to repent, the line is drawn.

Run, little one. Run for the rain.

Run to your god who erases the stain.

Run, little one. The time is near

to praise your god, for he is here.

Speak confections with a mouth full of dirt.

It will crumble beneath you and devour the hurt.

Run, little one. Run and scream.

You'll wish it was only just a dream.

Run, little one. Kick and claw.

Feel me tear. Feel me gnaw.

Madness comes and madness goes.

When it stops, no one knows.

Your only safety is six underground.

Ashes, ashes -- you will fall down.

Barren Hell

©Stacie Sandall

Frozen stiff,

except for our eyes,

we peer from our hoods

like owls in the night.

As our mittens stiffen,

mouths frozen shut,

snow falls to cover our feet,

too heavy to move.

We stand like statues of cold stone.

Snow-covered branches fall to the earth.

Our fingers turn blue

as we try to clutch anything.

We open our eyes, now dry.

Hoping for summer,

our hair turns brittle.

The whipping wind beats our cheeks

like branches of icy steel.

Our teeth bear this wasteland,

this colorless, barren hell.

Feeling the pain,

our toenails crack beneath rubber boots.

We try to speak with ice forming on our tongues,

tissue on our lips tearing as we try.

The stinging of our flesh rises from our toes.

Trembling sounds of winter

and the sounds of our own breath,

snapping in mid-exhale,

screeching in our minds.

We sleep often -- it passes time.

We stand still, brooding in the pain,

in our own waste frozen to our clothes.

Our eyelashes fall to the white powder.

Our heads slightly bowed, we try to look up.

Our covered necks stiff despite our efforts,

weighted down by a blanket of death.

We still wait for salvation.

With no shelter, we wait.

Grow, My Children

©Stacie Sandall

I have spent pages trying to free them

so they could survive without me.

I have sent them soaring from my heart like paper gulls.

These words bluntly retreat and cling to the pages.

Dependent on my every tormenting thought,

they need me as I once needed them.

They are my children, my teachers.

I try hard to forget why I started,

but I will always remember why I ended.

One Perfect Day

©Stacie Sandall

All I need is just one perfect day.

One day to live for myself,

not how others want me to live.

I want to smash the barrier of time,

shelter the fleeing moment,

seize the child in the one who cries

and find the weakness in hate.

All I need is just one perfect day.

One day to do what I want to do,

not what others think I should do.

I want to touch the highest mountain,

dig the darkest hole,

find the hidden valley

and swim in the lurking fathoms.

All I need is one perfect day.

One day to be what I want to be,

not what others expect me to be.

I need to glide above the sun,

float among the tides

and wail among the beasts.

All I need is just one perfect day.

One day to be loved.

One day to be free.

Laughing Boughs

©Stacie Sandall

Swaying branches in the wind,

lower your boughs and let me in.

Oh, lovely limbs, whisper softly to me.

Laugh in my wake and sing in my sleep.

Laughing boughs, share my pain.

Shelter me close from the rain.

Weep with me in times of woe,

and within my tears you, too, shall grow.

Loving arms, embrace my breath.

Hold it tight and protect me from death.

Laughing boughs in the breeze,

taste my sorrow, oh mighty trees.

Boundaries

©Stacie Sandall

Don't reach to the edge of forever,

where their bodies throb in the darkness.

They hover above me in hot fervor,

slapping with proud tongues.

They prey on dreams and destroy the evidence.

Screaming, I clutch wet blankets.

Not even an echo bounces among the stars.

The silence jolts me from my sleep.

My sweaty brow gleams and the shadow of dreams slips away.

Taunted

©Stacie Sandall

I hear them in the dark,

their skull-piercing shriek.

Grasping in the deep,

my knees becoming weak.

The pawing hands, 

the tugging fingers,

the more I fight

the more it lingers.

I feel my pale skin tearing,

sweat streaming down my back,

lashing at every wound

and rotting flesh to black.

Forehead against terra

knotted nakedness

eyes softening

knuckles broken

thighs hardening

dust

Why?

©Stacie Sandall

Why, Lord?

Why won't you kill me?

The pain I endure,

is it funny to watch?

Why, Lord?

Why do you hate?

Is loving me more than

you're willing to do?

Why, Lord?

Why do I suffer?

Why does my torment

please you so?

Why, Lord?

Why must I stay?

I've offered life more

than I'm willing to give.

Why, Lord?

Why must I live?

Why would you want

me to suffer this way?

Enough is enough.

The pain will not stop.

I want nothing to do

with this life anymore.

I want no more sorrow.

I want no more sting.

Remove me from this dust,

or steady my eager hand.

Letting Go

©Stacie Sandall

Holding on to what I need the most,

carrying the love you once deprived me

and kept me hollow.

Holding on,

sucking on your sympathy,

choking on your apathy

I was forced to swallow.

Treading away,

falling away,

letting me fade,

crawling away.

Floating away,

falling from grace,

letting me fall,

fading away.

Letting go of things that I fear the most,

carrying the stones that once pinned me

without resistance.

Letting go,

feeling me pull away,

watching me fade away

into the distance.