What Rough Beast | Poem for April 24, 2019

Deborah Marshall
The Tyranny of Control

She remains the one
to whom she must make amends.
She hopes to release

the contained frog
from the Atlas mason jar,
from certainty, fate.

She longs to deliver
the princess from the bullfrog,
from unconscious fog.

She prays to remove
the poison from the apple,
scorpion venom,

bane before ruin.
Toxicologist.
Dwarfs versus giants.

Before it’s too late
the hag with the camera
enters the forest

seeks out the maiden,
who’s naked, still, unshamed;
her pubic hair aflame.

Reintroductions:
these familiar strangers
state their rightful names.

Deborah Marshall, aka Nana Boots, is a grandmother and visual artist. A retired art therapist, she is a writer and photographer whose poems and images are derived from life experiences. She spends her nights with her spouse and their boxer, Frances.

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