Above the town

Chapter 1: A progression of events

Death in the family:

The cool breeze bites at my nose and cheeks,

As I wrap my dress around myself once more

The streets seemed particularly bitter today,

And more sorrowful than I.

 

The funeral of my estranged aunt Liza.

Guilt consumed me the whole ceremony

And continues to do so now.

Whilst everyone around me sobbed and mourned

I couldn’t help but think of what a sour woman she was.

 

The wind is building up as my dress,

My meticulous hair

Is thrown in all directions.

Home, Home is where I need to be in the warm house.

Rounding the corner, a dreadful feeling fills my gut.

 

A  man is waiting, watching, prowling,

It seems i’ve been standing here to long, 

He catches my eye,

Run

RUN
RUN!!!

 

 

 

Fear:

I stand here,

With the heel of my shoe broken,

And the criminals arms bruising my own.

My legs are going numb, my body is shutting down,

Out of fear, or severe injury,

I can’t tell.

 

Something is glistening out of his coat,

A knife!

My heart is beating so loudly,

I don’t know what he is saying,

The ringing in my ears imitates the pounding in my chest.

 

He is Smiling, why is he smiling,

My feet are starting to tingle and,

Warmth spreads throughout my chest.

The knife is coming closer to my body,

As the heat consumes me.

 

His eyes are empty and full of darkness,

His smiling continues as though he is enjoying himself, 

Looking for a thrill rather than a bounty,

Evil is his entity.

 

I suddenly feel the need to throw up,

As the weight in my legs and arms leave me

He’s looking at me, he’s not smiling anymore

The crook is shrinking, my legs are dangling.

Am I flying?!

 

The shrinking town:

 The sickening feeling worsens,

As my entire body feels the breathless

Sinking,

 Heavy,

It engulfs me.

 

The buildings that always seemed to high,

Were eye level,

The people below looked like ants

That littered the road.

When would I stop?

 

Will I stop?

 

The stone buildings have morphed to

Thatched roofs.

The wind seemed to move me,

Like a feather in the wind.

 

The need for land beneath my feet is overbearing,

And the sickness in my stomach worsens

as my head fills with a dull pain.

 

stop flying

Stop Flying

STOP FLYING

 

 

 

The mantra continues until my feet hit the soft straw,

Was that real?

Maybe I’m bleeding out and i’m just hallucinating,

I pinch myself, nothing changes

Only a red mark on my already sore arm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2: The never ending spiral of confusion

 

A change in scenery

My vision leaves me and i feel like  someone is pulling me closer to the ground,

Like a ball and chain  attached to my foot,

My head hits the straw as the queasiness travels up my body.

The adrenaline that was once coursing through me escapes.

As I lie here,

Tired and sore.

 

My head is digging into the roof,

Almost as if it had been replaced by a bowling ball.

I’m trying to think back to what happened properly

But my mind is too clouded and heavy for my thoughts to push their way through

 

 

 

The town

What did this make me?

Maybe I’m crazy,

Or a mutation,

Or a witch.

My great grandmother was a witch,

She was full of drama and entertainment and her abilities, regarding magic

Caused incredible fear to all that she displayed it too.

 

She was disowned from the family after her public display of magic in the town

That resulted in a small accident involving a small boy and his mother

She never shied away from showing her powers,

But it was meant to be kept strictly within the family.

 

She was cast out of the family and the town issued a burning at the stake,

Quite old fashioned but she didn’t fight against it

She walked with a smile and her last words were said,

“The power never leaves us witches”.

Since then my family and others in the town have been

Incredibly apprehensive of any witches that may live in the town.

 

No hope

My family members have never been the warm and welcoming type,

My grandmother was the only person whom i had felt loved around,

The rest of my family loved their polished image 

Anything that disrespected or tarnished that image didn’t exist.

 

My beautiful mother,

Posh and Tall,

Whom always held her head up

Whom favoured her banquets

And balls over her own daughter.

 

My prideful father,

Praised and poised.

Celebrated amongst his successes and far too accomplished,

For me.

 

For my family has never been warm,

Never enjoyed my harsh personality

Against their perfect one.

Only seen on special occasions

I have no one to talk to,

I have no hope.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3: A realisation

 

The walk of my future

Walking,

The number of trees slowly decrease as the town grows closer

As the weight of the day drags me down

Into a never ending pit of dread.

 

Do I have control over it,

Or is it merely a one off,

Despite the fear that looms within me

The excitement and butterflies that fill my stomach

Give me a sense of stability and safety.

 

Like I have unlocked a key,

Inside a door that has been locked for years.

The town blares,

As the landscape changes.

 

Maybe others are like me,

Alone and Afraid,

Maybe I’m not the only one that can fly.

The buildings stand confrontingly tall,

As a poster frames the brick architecture.

 

The circus?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 4: A new start to the same story

Cirque piégé

The poster is littered with bright colours,

A massive tent with incredible animals.

The smiles on the clowns faces

Make my own mouth turn up.

Comfort fills me

My decision is made.

I’m taking a trip to the Cirque Piégé.

 

 

 

My bags are packed and the train is coming,

My whole world has been in black and white,

Nothing has ever made me feel part of a whole,

The train stops,

The music starts 

I am home.

 

C O L O U R

Colour is bursting from all directions,

As wondrous creatures walk amongst me,

The clown with the brightest suit and biggest smile,

The trapeze artists walking on hands and feet,

Everyone is so vibrant.

 

The Ring master is standing high and proud,

Looking over his work,

Wearing the biggest hat that seems to stretch over the performers,

His red suit is so loud that its all i can look at,

What a magical place!

 

My feet seem to walk without thought

As laughter and happiness make. Dome over the tent,

Like a bubble that can never be popped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vibes

I walk amongst the dancers and musicians

The music calms me as I sink around,

Swimming amongst the warm atmosphere.

No one notices me as I sway to the gentle rhythm.

 

The Ring master strides over to me

His powerful strides make me uneasy,

Yet his smile tells me otherwise.

He offers his hand as he takes my suitcase,

No questions asked as to why I’m here.

 

Despite the harshness of his exterior

The gentleness of his voice calms me,

We are approaching a small tent,

A small stretcher bed and desk

Are contained within.

 

 

 

This is where i sleep,

My life in seems to just be beginning 

Dusk is approaching as the cool air nips at my fingertips,

The stretcher is covered in cushions and is so delectable

I let my body be consumed as my eyes flutter shut.

 

What is my talent?

So many talented people frolic amongst us.

Like the flexible and weightless acrobats

And the clown that seem to make even the grumpiest of people

Laugh, maybe for the first time in their life.

Or the trained animal tamer that go up against

The biggest of beasts and control them to even household pets.

 

For others who are talentless,

We are sent to be clearers,

After the animals mainly.

 

Several days have passed,

Memories have been tossed around

Attempting to find any hint of my abilities,

In regards to magic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Month 4

Despite my best efforts,

My powers have not resurfaced.

I figure it was a one off.

My useless attempts at magic have been wasted.

Rage boils through me as I let out a silent scream,

The glass behind me bursts,

Sharp shards  fly everywhere,

What just happened.

 

I concentrate,

My hands seem to follow where my eyes move,

“Show me magic” repeats in my head 

As i focus on bursting another bottle,

Smash

I’ve done it.

 

 

 

Chapter 5:

Life in circus

The music followed me everywhere,

With my new found talent the ring master is thrilled,

I am a new act.

Large posters of my face are advertised everywhere.

 

A costume is made up of a small leotard,

Layered with sequins and glitter.

My make up is done perfectly by nearby hands,

People have been coming far and wide to see the magic girl,

With high levels of concentration things can be moved,

Yet I have not flown anywhere since the beginning of this chapter of my life.

 

Day after day

I am confined within a large cage like box,

As various objects are placed in front of me

And a routine is built up around the movements of the objects.

 

Groundhog Day

Day after day,

I slip into the costume and make up is caked upon me,

The thrill of it all lasted only a short while as the performance,

Seemed just that,

A performance.

A mask that had to be put on for every show.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6: Weaker than before

Dehumanising

Day after day this once wondrous place,

Loses more colour,

It was great, the people were lovely,

 

The initial uneasiness felt with the ring master was confirmed

As the pressure I feel for  performances becomes more rigorous,

As He heckles me to look more of this

And act more of that.

 

Every day takes more and more out of me,

The excitement that I once had for the job,

Left me several months ago,

Everything is grey again.

 

My powers

My head feels blurry,

All the time,

As my concentration lessens and lessens

The spark that lights my powers are dimming

And i don't have the strength to get them back.

 

 

 

No one accepts the witches,

My family cast out my grandmother after her powers were made public,

The Ring master and the audience only wish to abuse it.

 

Every day the ring master,

Dances upon his pedestal as more people come in,

I am merely a puppet and he has the strings,

Everyday it's the same routine and 

I have no strength left.

 

Yet the agreement made when my powers were first discovered,

Only made it so I can leave with the masters approval.

Which at this rate seems improbable,

I fear what would happen if I were to escape.

 

Cold night

The night is particularly bitter,

The longest winter in a long while,

Clean up duty tonight and somehow i’m the happiest then,

The stars don’t seem to shine so bright anymore,

As the happy music that plays is merely a reminder of the prison this place is.

 

Happy families come and go,

As they see the smiles plastered on everybody's face,

That are merely painted on,

Sure everybody was happy when they joined.

But it changes you.

 

The once joyful and happy excitement felt

Is overcome by a dull worthless feeling buried deep within you.

Yet many can’t leave because of a similar contract or

Nothing to go back to.

Nowhere to go.

So they’re forced to live trapped in a smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7: P a r a n o i d

Strange feeling

The lights are dim

And the moon is bright

The wind blows against my cheek

As it says goodnight

 

Something feels strange

The cages seemed to scream as i walk,

And the ground beneath my feet sinks with each step.

The night was embracing the terror of the darkness.

 

The performances this week have been strange,

Less families have been seeing me

Yet more people have begun to loom after shows.

 

The  trees whistle,

And the hairs on my neck stand up.

 

 

 

Apprehensive

A man looms beneath the shadows

His scars stretch across his face

And are deeper than rivers.

One of his eyes is paralysed looking at the ground as the other glows,

Radiating the darkness that lurks within him.

 

He walks closer as is bolder like body Becomes gigantic

He walks as though he were on a battlefield

Every step becomes louder and louder.

His shoulders stump as his menacing face becomes clearer in the light

 

 His smile is wide and dead,

The only thing that matched his expression was determination,

His pace increases as my legs begin to run,

He’s here to kill me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 8: fight or flight

My legs carry be so far before my scarf is snatched behind me,

Air leaves my lungs for a second and I am thrown to the ground.

He’s standing over me a his hands curl into tight fists.

 

He hits my ribs as he pushes more air out of me,

I roll away as his fists hit the ground where my head was once,

My legs attempt to stand and find something to use to defend myself.

I wobble towards the tents to look for more people.

 

A sharp pain enters my back as my legs give way.

Warmth washes over me

As vomit works its way up my body.

 

 

 

Chapter 9: escape

My legs dangle as the rest of my body goes limp,

Th breeze hits my face fast

As I finally open my eyes.

I’m towering over him. Flying

 

Shock registers for a second as he smiles again,

Something glistens in the moonlight as he brings out a pistol.

My heart stops for a second and my ears ring

As the first gun shot rings in my head.

He missed.

 

I dodge the bullet once more as it grazes the side of my waist,

He's aiming,

His paralysed eye remains fixated on the ground as the glassiness of it shines.

I concentrate despite the fear rippling inside of me,

SMASH!

 

I float upward and dive as fast as I can,

His glass eye is smashed and he is left rippling in pain.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 10: falling

I dive down

And use all the strength I have left and issue blow after blow,

The blood seeps from his head and bruises form against his skin.

The warmth hits my back as adrenaline ripples through me.

 

He lies writhing and groaning,

My feet escape me once more and I am shot upwards.

No control,

But an escape.

Comfort drags within me as I realise I can protect myself.

There is no need for me to depend on others for my protection.

I can do it by myself.

                    

Chapter 11: flying

Euphoric

The sun shines over the ocean,

No concept of where I am or how long I have been flying for

Only the content settled within me.

 

The love I never felt with my parents

And the comfort I peeked form the circus

Was all a stepping stone to get me to this point,

I have never felt more love before in my life.