The Tragic Tale of Violet
Written for Da'.
Here is Violet
Pretty Violet
Grey eyed, red haired, white faced Violet
Violet like the rain, the mist-white rain
that falls on the unending green
of blank empty fields
in South Dakota
Violet like the grey rock
where pioneers drove waggons
A hundred waggons
A thousand waggons
Until the wheels made rivers in the grey rock
wearing it down
turning it into channels
the grey rock in the grey sand
in Wyoming
Violet clutching her white hands in the ugly bright colours
of the clothes she wears
hand-me-down clothes for little Violet
Pretty Violet
until you see how ugly she is
Here is Violet
Here is Geoffrey
But you can't see Geoffrey
Invisible Geoffrey
Paler than the white rain in South Dakota
Hidden deeper than the deep ruts in the grey rock in Wyoming
What do you know about Geoffrey?
Invisible, isible, always there
Holding Violet's hand
because Violet needs someone to hold her hand
Poor Violet
Brave Geoffrey
Here is Geoffrey
Invisible and real because Violet is lonely; Violet is alone
in the tiny college dormitories where she lives
with another girl in her room
and seven more down the hall
Violet is lonely, so Geoffrey is here
holding her hand
Here is Geoffrey
Here is Diana
Laughing Diana
Diana who is a hundred colours all at once
like the laughing streets of the busy city
full of shops to lure tourists
shops full of beautiful things
that you'll never need, but very beautiful
and a little special a little wonderful a little secret
the colour-lined streets of Santa Fe
Santa Fe New Mexico
Diana who is lovely and happy
Friendly as friendly as dancing in fountains
with a whirl of water
with a wave of wonderful
Memphis, Tennessee
wonderful
laughing
lovely and happy
Here is Diana
Here is the shadow
(Poor Violet!)
that ate Diana
(Poor Violet...)
who danced down the stairs and
missed a step
caught her breath and lost her laugh
with a glitter like water falling in an arc
one last time
the colours died and the shadow
swallowed up Diana
Here is the shadow
Here is Geoffrey
Invisible Geoffrey
You never know what he's doing
whether he's running
whether he's jumping
You never know about Geoffrey, silver as an aspen,
shivering in the sun
Poor Violet!
Perhaps it was Geoffrey who--
Diana was clever and laughter and after all
Light is too clever for shadows to eat it
Unless someone trips it by
flicking a switch
Perhaps it was Geoffrey who--
Poor Violet...
Geoffrey holds Violet's hand, but
Diana held her hands out to the side like wings
and danced down the stairs
all by herself
What if Geoffrey--
Maybe Geoffrey--
Violet liked to watch Diana dance
Geoffrey is jealous sometimes
what if maybe she doesn't know you never know
what if maybe
Diana danced like flashes of sunlight
splashes of leaves that weave in the wind
slivers and silvers of rain that split on the ground and are
never the same
for-ever the same
like a kiss of laughing Diana came and
danced danced
and Violet watched
Poor Violet!
From her hiding place in the tiny college dormitory
she looked from her bed
and there was Diana
Diana who danced
and sometimes
Geoffrey is jealous
and it's easy to flip the switch
and send the light tumbling down
the stairs
maybe maybe not what if?
Poor Violet
Geoffrey is invisible
Here is Geoffrey
Here is Violet
Frightened Violet
Violet can't let anybody know
of course she isn't afraid of Geoffrey
Geoffrey holds Violet's hand
she isn't afraid because he holds her hand
But somebody might hurt Geoffrey
It's wrong to push--
It's wrong to trip--
It's wrong to kill--
Poor Violet!
It's wrong to kill Diana
and somebody might come to hurt Geoffrey
to hurt him and take him away
So Violet must hide him
protect him and hide him
he holds her hand, and now Violet will hide his hands
keep him safe
love him and show him he
never needed
to be jealous
Violet will jump and tremble and shriek
when anyone speaks to her, anyone comes
near to her
They might see Geoffrey
all of them
might
see
Geoffrey
and hurt him and take him away
Oh, poor Violet,
Violet who is keeping Geoffrey safe
Poor Violet!
Here is Violet
Here is Catherine
Thoughtful Catherine
Catherine like linen and sweet-smelling flowers
Like yellow-white batter for
golden-brown pancakes
Good and gentle and serious
sensible
Like sensible Arkansas stretching for-ever
until it turns into flat wide Oklahoma
Catherine is safe
if you need to be safe
Catherine in concerned
and sometimes asks questions
Catherine lives down the hall from the tiny dormitory
where Violet
(Poor Violet!)
is hiding Geoffrey
(Poor Violet...)
Catherine, a carousel with old antique horses
whose paint has been chipping
whose colour is gone
who will hold you and rock you and fondle your hair
who no matter who old you are will ask you what's wrong
Catherine is confused
and wants to ask questions
of poor frightened Violet
who flinches as questions;
like grass in the wind, who
trembles at questions
and worries and wavers
like Colorado rivers
Catherine wants to ask questions
and Violet won't answer
Poor Violet!
Catherine might take Geoffrey away
Here is Catherine
Here is Geoffrey
Paper-thin Geoffrey
fluttering like curtains inside Violet's head
they'll come to hurt Geoffrey
they'll come and see Geoffrey
they'll come to take Geoffrey away, away
and no one will hold her hand
her cold hand!
Geoffrey has done a bad thing
and Violet is afraid:
they will take him!
And Violet is afraid
Geoffrey tripped the light
and they don't let you trip the light
down the stairs
like a flash
like a cartwheel--
It's bad.
Paper-thin, butterfly Geoffrey
has tripped the light
they will kill him
Here is Geoffrey
Here is Violet
Violet is frightened more and more each day
Violet knows
they will kill Geoffrey for tripping the light
They will take Geoffrey
and no one will hold her hand
no one at all
Poor Violet!
She is afraid
when they speak to her she screams
She cries in the middle of class
Poor Violet!
Geoffrey is always beside her
but she cannot sleep at night
She feels cold
Like the storm closing in over the Badlands
Like the wind cursing over the Badlands
Like hills and valleys of for-ever rock
that are wrapped around close by streamers of wind
that wave in the trees
and whistle
and scream
Poor Violet!
Violet is afraid
Geoffrey will die!
At school they have questions
Catherine has questions
Violet can't answer or Geoffrey will die
Violet is frightened
she'll be all alone
Here is Violet
Here is the shadow
that ate Diana
If Violet is eaten, then no one will
tell
But no one will be there to
keep Geoffrey safe
The shadow is waiting outside the window
Waiting and waiting
Hungry and waiting
At school they tell Violet that her mother is worried
Her father concerned
Her friends are all frightened
But Violet has nobody
no one but Geoffrey
and Geoffrey will die if she answers their questions
if she speaks when they ask her
if she whispers while they wait
the shadow is waiting
the shadow is hungry
the deep black bottomless hungry cave
full of black bottomless holes
in South Dakota
the shadow is waiting
Here is the shadow
Here is Catherine
Kind-hearted Catherine
Violet needs friends
because she is lonely
Catherine could be
could be a friend
But Violet won't listen
Here is Catherine
Here is Geoffrey
Here is the shadow
Here is Violet
and Violet will choose
Some way is the right way
Some way to save Geoffrey
So Geoffrey won't die
and Violet won't be alone
But what's right?
Which is right?
And Violet is frightened
And Violet is crying and screaming
and scared
Here is Violet
Here is the shadow
Here is Geoffrey
Here is Violet
holding hands
with the invisible isible Geoffrey
her good Geoffrey
who shouldn't have been jealous
and flipped the switch
and tripped the light
Violet is holding his hand to-night
and the shadow is waiting
outside the window
like a cave to explore
Geoffrey will come with her
and she won't be alone
and no one will kill him
but Violet herself
The shadow is hungry
and Violet is ready
and Geoffrey will be safe and be with her for-ever
and he'll hold her hand
and she won't be afraid
Violet won't fall
like the light turning cartwheels
Violet's a sigh
a slip of the silver, a drop of the rain
a dream that plays over and over the same
and never gets changed
just keeps turning over while you run
down the maze again and again
and you never do see what's behind you
as it swims in the mist
and someday will catch you--
Violet doesn't fall
like a glitter of water
She falls like a ghost
and she holds Geoffrey's hand
like two curtains that flutter
two ghosts in the wind
drifting down the shadow
the bottomless shadow
hungry and waiting
down on the ground
Her hands aren't her wings
and Violet never can fly--
Violet isn't falling
like a last gasp of laughter
she falls like a napkin
that somebody dropped
and Geoffrey
falls too, like a tremble of lace
and they're falling together
and
Geoffrey is safe
And Violet is falling
like Violet
not alone
she is not alone
to-night
Here is Violet
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