Faces in the Walls
scowling down at me, reaching out for me
I listen to them
I look into them through the peephole
and I see them dancing, dancing
touching their dresses at a party
dancing around the wicker chair
I look at them from the peephole
a feathered dress
an expressionless gaze
stares back at me through the peephole
I flutter my wings and try to take flight
but the stone-cold eyes have me trapped
flat against my bed, looking up at the popcorn ceiling
where tiny cherubs laugh and play
and point their arrows at my face
I lie wide-eyed and I scream
until the blood gushes from my lips
and I can get up
three women watch me
two with bodies of tree trunks
they steal toward the blood and take it in hand
pouring into their little vials
a part of me
I take my leave out of this room that
is locked with a forbidden key
the walls pounding against me as I slam my hand
against the door that never opens
the sunlight pours in and takes my favor
I leave with glitter on my lips
and my memory fades
back to the faceless room
where masks and music blow in the breeze
and a thin man stands in a corner,
his skin tight around his bones and
his flesh pulling at the seams until he bursts
into a million fragments that I try and catch
but the pieces slip between my fingers
and I see my broken face in a shard of mirror
and step away
I’m scared of myself, frightened, disgusted
my face is disfigured
VICTORIA RUSSO is a senior pursuing a Baccalaureate in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing and Literary Arts. She lives in Palmer, AK and enjoys hiking and writing short stories and poetry. She is currently working on a novel centered around wolves in Alaska.