Once upon a time
There were two sisters
Twins
Identical in many ways
they loved to sing loved to dance
loved to explore the outdoors together
They loved one another very much
One day they both fell ill
It started with a cough, they were put to bed
But soon blood began to spill
from their mouths onto their open hands
staining their white gowns red
In desperation, their parents sought
A cure for their beloved twins
But no cure could be found
only a few feeble suggestions
It was said that perhaps the airs of the mountains
would do a world of good for the
Young one’s lungs
But also they heard that the airs of the forests
rich with the breath of plants
might be the only place to heal the girls
Unsure of what to do
they decided with heavy hearts
To send one girl to each place, in hopes of a cure
The girls had to part
Neither found health in mountains nor forests
they continued growing weaker
longing for the comfort of each other,
the sisters spent a great deal of time outdoors
as they had when they were
always together
One day
the same day
each sister ventured out and came to a lake
one was cold with patches of ice
the other warm and covered in plants
they both looked in
and gazed at their sisters face in the water
So happy to see one another
they leaned closer
and so weakened by their sickness
they fell
Water covered them, slowly creeping over their faces
Water filled their lungs
They died in peace
a faint smile on their lips
and a glint of life
captured in water
reflected in their eyes
Later when their parents were asked to identify the bodies
neither could say which girl was which
These are the paintings I had up for crit when my teacher told me I loved "beautiful corpses" hehe. I wrote this story after I painted them. I am taking Poetry class right now to fulfill a writing intensive requirement. We have to write a poem a week and are reading a lot of poetry. I have been so inspired by some of the poems our teacher has us read. Recently we read "The Book of Frank", by CA Conrad, a local poet. They are very weird, disturbing, funny, and sad. I just LOVE this book. It inspired me so much, and I have been writing quite a lot lately. I think Conrad has given me the courage to write freely and not worry about things sounding silly or strange. The funniest thing, Conrad grew up close to where I live in the country and used to sell flowers on the highway exit where I get off every time I drive home from school. I want to meet him someday, go to a reading, he is in NY right now but hopefully he comes back soon. Here are some of his poems from The Book of Frank I wanted to share;
"Frank makes
sores on
the wall
with a
hammer
he kisses them
strokes them
"I'm sorry!" he
"Frank knows a
butterfly
who wonders
about her old
caterpillar
friends"
"May
flowers
Frank shuts
his legs
but
music
seeps
through"
Only a few of so many good ones, there are longer ones too. If you are interested here is his blog, http://caconrad.blogspot.com/
