Curio
Poem: He tore through the canvas in rage, white gloves ripped open and bleeding, Rainwater poured through the age stained cloth, torrents endlessly feeding,
Curio
The Ferris wheel screamed in the night, rust crying beneath the burning,
One carriage broke loose from the height, shattered glass and twisted yearning,
Bright fragments scattered out through the light, pieces of him still turning,
Curio stood there gripping the rail, bells on his sleeves still churning.
Don’t walk away when the world is burning.
He tore through the canvas in rage, white gloves ripped open and bleeding,
Rainwater poured through the age stained cloth, torrents endlessly feeding,
The center pole shook in its cage while sorrow settled receding,
Far past the fence line her tires hissed low, one final sound retreating.
Don’t walk away when your heart is yearning.
The carousel groaned in the dark, old music warped and decaying,
He shattered each painting apart, bright lacquer splitting and flaying,
Gold trim curled loose from the heart of rides where children once were playing,
Every ruined thing around his feet bore the shape of her staying.
Don’t walk away.
“You called for me,” he screamed aloud, harsh echoes bitterly ringing,
His voice came back tired through the crowd of dead stalls endlessly singing,
Glass bulbs shattered bright and proud beneath his silken boots while spinning,
Paper stars drowned in the mud at his feet, where tears were now beginning.
Don’t walk away when my heart is burning.
Sixteen long years inside decay, its faded lights slowly dimming,
Desolate nights left to sway through silence endlessly thinning,
Then she arrived and laughter gave way to warmth beneath his skinning,
Now every ride and game returned to illusionary grinning.
Don’t walk away when my heart is yearning.
Fire climbed up the red striped seams, smoke curling to the lofty ceiling,
Her beloved bench stood near the beams, untouched beside his kneeling,
She had summoned him from fractured dreams, ink giving shape and feeling,
Now every page she has left behind split open wounds still healing.
Don’t walk away.
He hurled the phonograph through the gloom, cracked records wildly spinning,
The waltz collapsed into the room, static and sorrow now twinning,
One fleeting laugh cut through the doom, ghost thin and desperately grinning,
Curio fell among shattered songs with heartbreak finally winning.
Don’t walk away when the world is burning.
By dawn the carnival stood undone, black canvas torn and swaying,
Smoke drifted low beneath the sun, pale debris through puddles straying,
Curio sat where the rides would run, cracked paint and silence flaying,
Still watching down the road she took, part of him endlessly praying.
Don’t walk away.
By Heather Patton / Verdant Butterfly
Musical Pairing
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By Heather Patton · Launched a year ago
A creative space with over 170 enchanting stories and poems. I write fantasy, folklore and genre bending prose that can step off the path into comedy, adventure or the unsettling at any moment.
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Beautiful and tragic all in a nice burrito!!! Well played!!!
Heart rendering …
I hope Curio returns and we can discover more …
Great characters, stories beautifully told 🙏