In Good Company
Hurt for the first time again, they swear to live,
seeking protection in the indelible mirror;
yet they stare in hope of freezing the image
they hope all will see.
Broken anew, birthing twins to the old scars,
finding a smile in a figure of fragile wax,
they must, and know to stay away from the flame
they wish to murder.
Wrinkled with the creases of the day’s news,
pleading the world to cease its rapid devolution,
they ready for a death surrounded by laughter;
they learn to fake.
Alone in the refuge of those who live their pain also,
no longer dreaming of an embrace sweet, eternal,
they slow their pace so they will not dissolve abruptly;
they become experts in their trade.
In the sole company of the same they gravitate,
moving uncertain of their differences with their crowd,
they come to a halt in this illusory safety of an existence;
they create like a tomb.
Author Bio:
Fabrice Poussin teaches French and English at Shorter University. Author of novels and poetry, his work has appeared in Kestrel, Symposium, The Chimes, and dozens of other magazines. His photography has been published in The Front Porch Review, the San Pedro River Review and more than one hundred other publications.