Marie Elia received her MFA in poetry from Columbia University. She is the archivist for the Poetry Collection at the University at Buffalo.
Charlotte Among the Beasts
Pinned against watered wallpaper
they stare: arms open, tacked
figures from girlhood. Charlotte,
don’t move them, they're in order
and it took me ages. But I can draw you
a map if you want to go to the place where wrens ripen.
I planted all my dolls but forgot to water them.
On Tuesdays they feed us butter;
on Wednesdays I choose our prey
from the walls, chewing all day,
sucking wax from pulp.
I like to wake with the light.
I like when you're here, when I open my eyes
and you're looking at me like a mirror.
But it's never going to work if you don't share.