Deep beneath
the surface of my brown eyes
lies a shunned woman
dressed in red silk
with purple striations
laced with venom.
She swims in the dark pool
of my pupils, waiting
to be plucked from her prison.
The water was supposed to be pink,
but she knew it had been born blue.
Deep beneath
the burdens of boyhood
lies an enigmatic girl
who wants to be seen,
so she plays the endless theatre
dance—until she’s cast as man.
The pool beckons her to merge
from day one—the devilish snake
comes nearer as her body deforms
into an ugly, hairy monster.
He sinks his fangs into her wrist;
spools of venom release
and she never lets him go—
filling my pupils with oceans of her blood,
my eyes turn from brown to blue.