sherrie tappenden

I thought I saw a glimpse.
the tight knit chrysalis
in a diamond out of sight.
...

I am beauty interspaced
with utility and fragrant green.
I am ethereal, ever laced
on wings of delicate
...

secure in the knowledge
of dried ancient bone,
safe in the arms
of moss-wall and stone.
...

lift out my heart
and place my death
upon an altar.
sacrificial.
...

...

oh God it came too soon.
without warning
bang.
right there.
...

just once.
be obvious.
just tonight
lean over
...

at the end of the rocky little slope
that leads from the footpath
to the beach
stands an iron frame.
...

trust in you will waver
then it's gone.
disappointing that you
will shed your skin.
...

just a little alcohol
a little little.
just a bit.
drunk enough to feel no shame
...

...

break with me
the bread, the wine,
the scales from my skin
shed to reveal
...

she ain't going no where
she cling
to him
like a hook fingered burr
...

the silence is deafening,
right up to the edge of eruption.
thick like sponge
and then suddenly
...

I can feel your hands on my face,
your breath against my neck
gently stroking my hair
even now.
...

the words come easy.
they always have.
they flow from me in great gulps of air,
filling the paper
...

...

what would you have me do?
cleave the wood,
split it down the middle.
Axe.
...

she stands closer to the edge than she needs to
just in case there's someone who cares.

she moves further from the centre of the circle
...

without her, what would you be?
still my friend? So eloquent,
still funny and so charming too.
my lover and my confidante.
...