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Authors: Heppermann,Christine

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BOOK: Poisoned Apples
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Ugly Stepsister

O
ften since the ball, when the house is draped

in sleep, I put on my robe and slippers, shuffle

past the wardrobe crammed with slack gowns,

past the door to the empty attic,

down to the kitchen, where the mice linger

just long enough to decide I am still not the one

they love. No one cares if I finish off the whole leg

of lamb, the last of the pumpkin pie.

And if I sit there dreaming until morning,

the new girl Mama hired will come in

to ask if I want tea, her soot-stained face

a perfect mask of concern.

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Transformation

I
n my fantasy he is never a prince, vanilla pale

and trim, but a swarthy frog, all bulging muscle,

asking nothing more

than to eat from my plate

and sleep pooled together on my bed,

where now, alone, I ripple the sheets,

slide my fingers down

into the cool water and imagine

him there, retrieving my golden ball

again and again and again.

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Boy Toy Villanelle

G.I. Joe comes with a sword and Kung Fu Grip.

When Spider-Man shoots his webs, villains, beware!

Pony Princess Cadance has a brush, a pretty mane to style and flip.

No saddle? No bridle? For $16.99? What a gyp.

“Today's my wedding day!” squeals Cadance. Spidey, beware!

G.I. Joe comes with a sword and Kung Fu Grip;

he loves to hold a brush, style his friends' beards with fancy clips.

In his hooded spandex tux (sold separately), the groom looks so debonair.

Pony Princess Cadance has a brush, a pretty mane to style and flip,

and if she could pretty-please borrow Joe's sword, she could rip

down all those ugly webs in hubby's den, give the space some sparkle flair.

G.I. Joe comes with a sword and Kung Fu Grip,

which he pawns to open his salon—Action Hero Curl 'N' Clip.

Dreaming of villains, Spidey wakes up web-tied to his chair!

Pony Princess Cadance has a brush, a pretty mane to style and flip

and a Spider-Cycle she rides away at a fast clip.

Pony Princess Cadance comes with a sword and Kung Fu Grip.

G.I. Joe has a brush, pretty manes to style and flip.

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..................................................................

Rapunzel

H
ow foolish I was to believe that

crooning my name from below meant something

more than pressing an elevator button.

They all want to feel themselves rising

higher. They all want the girl in the tower

to pour herself into their hands.

Who's to say that, given a chance

at lower altitude, I would be different

from the rest?

Today will be the day I refuse

to lift my head from this damp pillow,

far away from the comb and the brush and the pleading

bodies always luring me down.

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..................................................................

Art TK

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Light as a Feather,
Stiff as a Board

T
here was already enough dark magic

at those slumber parties. Still we played

the game:
You are riding the bus

or
You are crossing the street

or
You are walking through the park,

and then

the brakes failed,

the lightning struck,

Your killer drags you down into the leaves. . . .

My friends chanted and slipped

a few fingers under my corpse.

If the spell worked, my soul was gone;

I was light as a feather, stiff as a board,

drifting high above their heads.

If not, they laughed and dropped me.

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Nature Lesson

T
he dress code says

we must cover ourselves

in

ample pants,

skirts that reach well below

our lascivious knees,

polos buttoned over

the rim of the canyon,

a glimpse of which can send a boy

plunging to such depths

he may never climb back up

to algebra.

We
say

that if a hiker strays

off the path, trips, and

winds up crippled,

is it really

the canyon's fault?

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Red-handed
BOOK: Poisoned Apples
7.93Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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