pretty polly

the camera pans onto the girl in the mirror
she sits on a pink carpet
cutting off blonde ringlets
and handing them to her dolly.

the dolly had a shiny house and a shiny kitchen
with a shiny mum and a shiny dad.

the girl looks into the mirror
and says to the smiling hairless face
‘is this is how to become a pretty girl?’
her smile grows
she cuts off more of her hair.

a ringlet falls onto the carpet,
maggots burrow up beneath its surface
to reach the vanilla tasting curl.

the camera closes in on the dolly:
on her back
there are fairy wings.
the girl in the mirror
tears them off
with her teeth
and swallows them.

she glares at the camera.