She Always Wanted to Be In Pictures
I envy the girl in the movie running away
Her tangerine hands pressed together like origami, ready
To unfold on the next passerby foolish enough
To stop and reach for her. Or ask the racing shadow
Will you survive?
Her script caught in her throat, she pantomimes
And escapes to the moment before the fright
Where the audience feels safe and tucked inside themselves
Skeptical that the world could ever be a horror flick.
Watch for the man behind the door.
I want to find a way to stop falling
For the usual clichés and smarten up the way she
Has, makeup smeared against her palm trailing fake blood lipstick
Like bread crumbs along her escape route to freedom.
He can’t get you if you open the door hard enough.
Sarah Clayville is a high school teacher and freelance editor in a lovely town in Pennsylvania. Her poetry and fiction can be found in journals such as The Threepenny Review, StoryChord, Literary Orphans, Mixtape Methodology, and other places. She is also a poetry and nonfiction editor for the online journal Mothers Always Write and at work on a young adult novel and chapbook. You can find her thoughts on writing and other publications at SarahSaysWrite.com.
Furious 