A Beast Dressed as Josephine

salty night
in the city of love
left open
Josephine should have flown
under the radar
but rose above

gravel pulverized beneath dagger heels
spanning miles far and wide
each deafening step
a hollow cavity
plastic atoms fuse
mimic a heartbeat
wicked courtship in her sights

a sinister dance
sparked
by a temptress in tune-
witchcraft pheromones ignite
unicorn hunt commences

there he is, the broken one
bathed in quiet shine
craves effervescent brine
she, a sorrow seeking missile
with a Cheshire smile
aims to command
his emerald garden

ripe petal perfume
swells in his nose
congests his course
ambushed
silver aura imprisoned
by her ashy trance

he found Josephine

but she knows,
he was the one truly lost

beast has him in her tattered wings
buckles to her lies
down his throat they slide
drinks her in
feels high
near sighted
her poison
rewires his inner circuitry
shadows his guiding light
embraces fiery rapture sunrise

Josephine charms the purest unicorn

oh yes, her caress
like salve
applied to a rotating door of wounds

ignoring her fingernails
scrape his marrow
brand him
with her sigil:

Josephine

soon thereafter
light burst inside her womb
soaking in the pale reprieve
drowning his shadows
his demons retreat

permanent, no
not as he had dreamed

his lows take her to new heights
hand in claw piercing him numb
jagged icicles tunnel down her cheeks
coveted

her finger draped in diamonds
his finger drains to black
his love her luck
birthed in arsenic
one-sided unity
ringing frozen
venomous courtship

art of eclipse
the bright side
slowly
eats her young
not one but two
satisfied

boomerang
you were
frisbee
would have been better

flickering lights blur stars
gray night
dulls echo warnings

now carrying the title late
treasure to the end, she indulges his—

Josephine

black widow
dressed in ivory.

Looking for more to read? Check these out from the MockingOwl contributors and authors.

• Central Park
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• Youth Who Lost Their Way

Leigh Parsons

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Leigh Parsons is an emerging poet based in Michigan. She is currently working on her debut poetry collection. Her poetry is tailored to the daydreamers and twilight thinkers, weaving a relatable narrative crafted to shed light on the challenges of the human experience. Her poetry has been featured in Stick Figure Poetry, Oddball Magazine, and she was selected as Poet of the Week by the Poetry Super Highway.

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