Monday, April 3, 2017

Elegiacally emotionless


She had the best poker face
She could hate a person's guts
yet smile and laugh with someone
they would never know
the rage, disappointment, or vengeance
purling beneath the calm

unless one knew what to look for

A helpful trait when growing with an alcoholic father
who sadistically sought other's emotional triggers
he mashed those buttons anyway, but
she learned to never let on that she was 
bleeding to death inside

Useful too when dealing with
her six daughters, only one of whom
inherited the poker face, the rest of
them having 'glass' faces
imagine the chaos and power-jockeying
in that household when every nuance of
every visage was fuel or tool

Now, don't be thinking she didn't ever
express anything with her face, though
if she was happy, her eyes would crinkle up
she would throw back
her head and laugh, infectious belly laughs
pulling the whole room in on the joke

And she could weep like nobody's business
whether grief or manipulation, tears were
seamlessly effective and expressive

And if one was in 'trouble', a mere flicker
of her eyes or the subtle set of her lips let the
victim know that 'just you wait' or 'frozen out'
would soon be a pain-filled part of
someone's future

Posted for and prompt from NaPoWriMo - Day 3: write a elegiac poem that centers on an unusual fact about the person or thing being mourned

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