By Martha Ellen
Bridal illusion is a soft
mesh net fabric
often used for veils
or layered over opaque
cloth to create an
ethereal effect. Illusions
are peaceful places.
She preferred living there.
All rough edges
are softened. Even the barbs
from the few spearheads
that do penetrate, dissolve;
and the spear can be
easily removed
leaving only a tiny speck
indicating where the puncture
had been. No pain
whatsoever. In illusion,
all flatware is sterling,
all Christmases, gilded,
all china, Limoges.
The plans to smother her
one Autumn day
in the deserted
Forest Preserve in northern
Illinois, on the uphill
footpath, by holding
his palm over her mouth
and nose, and then
sliding their infant
under the surface
of the nearby river
until he drifted
away, are thwarted
only by the muted
sounds of distant voices
were misunderstandings.
Later, she thought
the sideboard too
angular. She wrapped
it in illusion.
Looked better that way.
Martha Ellen lives in an old Victorian house on a hill on the Oregon coast. Retired social worker. MFA. Prose and poems published in Words Have Wings anthology, North Coast Squid and other journals and online forums. She writes to process her wild life.
Hot Pot Magazine 