Selfie
Raise her by the strings.
Head erect, close to yours,
and raise the mouth
at the edges. Skip the eyes –
no one will notice
if everyone’s smiling.
Raise your hand steady, point
at the both of you with
that careful aim, pause
for the click
put your arm around her
and wait for the recoil.
————–
(inspired, if that’s even the word, by a picture I saw of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie this morning)
9 thoughts on "Selfie"
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Wow, this is great in a heartbreaking way! Well done.
Really love the tension here.
Last line really clinches the poem!
I agree with Sylvia, your use of “recoil” in the last line is telling; through it, you express the selfie’s true nature.
100 percent creepy in a good way!
Interesting use of italics. I like it — it works really well and helps recoil to land even more precisely. … And: Ugh. Creepy.
Unsettling poem.
Surprise ending!
The ending really changes/charges the whole poem!