Medusa
By Lia!
I.
Lia, your head exploded
What?
I am suddenly self-conscious
The piece you had fired yesterday
Exploded in the kiln
I saved all the pieces
You can probably stick her together again
With a bit of white glue
But you’ll have to use paint instead of glaze
If she’s fired again she’ll come undone
II.
Her face is shattered
And though I grasp the fragments desperately
Quivering to reassemble her
The pieces don’t quite fit together anymore
Too much has been lost
III.
At this point
I want to stop trying
I want to hurl her
Violently across the room
And make her crack still further
Into clay dust
IV.
A ghastly thing to begin with
A face contorted by fear and rage
Turned ugly
It is right
That I cannot keep the cracks from showing
It is right
That she will never be finished
Though now it can’t be long before she’s done
