Marla Deschenes and Gwynne Mason


Gwynne Mason
Dreaming Turtle
Silk Paper with mixed media insertions
Inspiration piece

Spoken Hush
By
Marla Deschenes
Response

We cannot play this game forever.
The smoke curls around my face and my hands press into your flesh
There is never anything but the sound of your breath
Your mouth opening to invite me in
And my body invites in you.

What can I do?
With this hand that I had every hand
In dealing myself.
Every uphill battle minute.

Dive me in to the swirling smoke of your fantasies.
You wanted nothing more than for me to be strong
And yet the fierce loyalty really scares you
Holding on was never an option for little boy dreams.

I am strong
But always weak for you
Knees trembling in the softest light.
Every morning-pressed dusky minute.

Exhale the taste of my breath
And my skin with softly meld with yours in this molten darkness.
You are the only one I never wanted to possess
The only one whose scent leads me back to this place
Curled softly by your side.

Forever wanes
It is a shape shifter of wedding days
Into realizations of history passing before your eyes.
Every crushed-leave, smoke-twirled minute.