The revised version as of February 1, 2012.
I had only wanted a way home –
Simple transportation,
Movement from one location to the next –
When I noticed
A sly deception of nature:
A bus brimming with beautiful beings –
Lips, dewy and pink, creeping back flirtatiously
To reveal impeccably iridescent smiles,
Golden cascades of silk framing
Symmetrical palettes of ivory or peach,
Cobalt eyes dancing
Mischievously behind a fringe of dark lashes,
Slender fingers culminating
In flawless windows with
Tiny crescent moons at their sills –
Whose splendor was a facade.
For when I glanced outside to check our course,
Light bounced off the tinted egress,
Darkening my view of the road and evening sky
And exposing an unnatural horror:
My perception changed as the creatures transformed;
Their aberrant reflections –
Foul snarls baring contaminated openings
Of jagged decaying fangs,
Ethereal curtains of black hanging
Lifeless about pallid sneers,
Liquid black chasms
Amidst rotting, wilting flesh,
Manus, encrusted in crimson,
Tapering into
Stained and infected claws –
Unveiled shadowy secrets, both theirs and mine.
Click to see the original draft.
Rachel writes. 