Paper Shadows - Madeline Delaney

Warped reflections
of eyelashes,
of pupils,
and time calloused hearts
Stick to the bent heads of nails,
Catching the sugar in sap
Sweetness frozen to concave tin
While honey reads life as a bible
Pollen ink on petal parchment
Written by the worker bees
Returning from the hive of God
Where the drones die free of their sins
And the failing queen follows the current to salvation.

So now, in this theatre of war,
The Armageddon of souls,
I pray to paper shadows
And watch through the lens of inhibited vanity
As the sunlight taxes the touch of gold
Casting candied reflections
of eyelashes,
of pupils,
and time calloused hearts