The flash dilates
The truth
Narrow eyes down a narrow focus
Down a path of brambles
Thorns tearing flesh
Navigating through generational
Curses-secrets hidden
Behind smiles
Released and captured souls
Like fish hooked upon
The lips curling with their facade
Smile for the camera
And capture those “memories”
Pearly whites don’t
Allow entrance to pearly gates
Or gain wings of flight
The lines in images blurred
Distorted claimed falsehoods
Smiles disappear when
The camera drops
The moment of silence prepared
The image they wanted to keep
Smile for the camera
Adorn yourself in costumes and masks
And keep to yourself
What you don’t want others to know
Share your soul
Bare your heart
In a group of “loved ones”
With tainted arms
Hands holding knives
Around shoulders
To plunge between shoulder blades
“Love” cuts deep
And their arms
Weighed down by the lead weights
of their intentions and hidden agendas
Once their net was cast
Hook, line, they wanted to sink her
Smile for the camera
So they can connsume themselves
In the illusion of
One big happy family
In one flash
It’s gone.
The family dispersed
Like dandelion fluff
Planting themselves
Six feet under
Where in the dark their demons hide
Their seed buried
And from their growth
A still photograph
The image of themselves
They would kill to keep
Where it’s too dark to see
But in time the light will develop.