Lost in an image, not your own.
Twisted up branches of gut
grow shadow shapes
that despair and whine —
in whimpering heart winds
whispering lies.
Fairy dust tossed
into dirty shame.
Freaky villain in tights —
a supernatural male
with a stiff magic wand
stuck between crystal balls,
wanting to be whipped —
to beat off to Batman.
The mask. The upward reaching
muscular arm, hip thrust, finger snap.
Drag Queen’s strut.
The show always playing —
fag face permanently painted on.
Nature’s freak with a twisted streak
of unnatural desire
— Zada
Zada is a candidate in the master’s of fine arts program at Carlow University, and holds a master’s in art from Maryland Institute College of Art. She is a poet, a painter and a new-media artist. Her poetry has appeared in Voices from the Attic (Carlow University Press) and Rune. Many writers featured in Chapter & Verse are guests of Prosody, produced by Jan Beatty and Ellen Wadey. Prosody airs every Saturday morning on 90.5 FM.
