Jack O' Lantern

Jack O' Lantern

 

Hall full of mirrors,

Dozens of screaming banshees,

Yet I'm the only one,

And all visuals are me.

Sculptor's knife in my hand

And an artist's temperament,

This mask I wear

Must be put into perspective.

 

'Tis like shaving,

Only the cuts go deeper.

A slit there, and there's a new dimple.

Half of a smile, yes,

But I want to feel whole.

Blood flows down my face

As a river's rapids gush,

But art reflects pain,

And I add another bit of inflection.

 

There. Now my smile is whole,

A face not predicated by a frown.

I laugh ceremoniously,

Then the tears rush forth,

Blending in with the blood,

Perhaps a little saltier in taste. Yes?

This is quite decadent in flavor,

Tasting that which gave ills.

I smear a slew on my hand,

And spread it across my eyes.

You'd think this was Halloween,

That I'm the Jack O' Lantern, too.

 

Oh, but there is a smile,

More manufactured than before.

I've been medicated for years,

People saying that I was crazy.

But I'm proving them wrong,

Because I'm smiling forever now.

I'll go to my grave with an epitaph

Whittled into my face.

And for my last hurrah,

I carve into my arm.

This is the twilight of my youth,

Of a time that was emptied.

Oh, there was this one time

I felt something strange,

But that came before

I cross that last "T"

On my wrist.

 

And as I bleed out my woes,

I spread out on a mirror,

Sliding down, slowly,

As the pints go like Niagara.

Oh, but I said once

That I felt some kind of peace?

That came as the last breath

Made me take cold.