Control Freak
written by: Devonne Brown
@athesaurus1
Why I’m a control freak with a capital F.
What must it be like to be close to someone?
Creases, wrinkles, valleys with shadows of death hanging from faces
From what we’ve seen and don’t say
That face we don’t show anybody
The face under the veil,
there’s always a veil.
What must it be like to be close to someone?
I see you through the lens of
The caul separating me from you,
a mystic membrane between my face and yours.
I am behind it.
Protected.
So are you.
Don’t be recognized.
Be secret.
Keep secret.
Be the costume.
Be black tie and red velvet with all your heart and smile.
I hold my smile so tight my knuckles are white.
Close makes it hard to breathe.
Step away.
Devonne Brown is a West Virginia author and mother of twin boys. She has taught English from Shakespeare to basic Reading in a career that spans closer to a half than a quarter of a century. A scary “Warhorse English Teacher,” she has divided her professional time between alternative and traditional schools in West Virginia, North Carolina, and in the UK. Kids are the same everywhere. Her first book, Norris Tales, the Adventures of an Awful Housecat, an anthology of anecdotes and short stories revolving around family tyrant Norris, a cat of unusual presence and demeanor. No one needs a cat like Norris, but thankfully, a shelter picked him off of the streets to save other unsuspecting citizens from his unbridled condescension. He knocks stuff off of tables too, valuable stuff, full stuff. He doesn’t care whose stuff. Her son chose him out of a line up of decent cats. Norris shares a special bond with rowdy teenage boys. Her upcoming historical fiction women’s literature, In the Time of the Sonnets: 127 -154, explores the tale of Shakespeare’s Dark Lady, and is on track for publication in February 2023.
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