Treehouse

Chloe N. Clark

Girls with ribbons
tied tight round
their throats should never
be trusted—
      one wrong pull,
      fingers caught,
      can only ever end
      with the tie undone,
      the cut revealed,
      the head to come
      tumbling off, eyes wide,
      in beautiful surprise
at the inevitable looseness of knots.

Chloe N. Clark is an MFA candidate in Creative Writing & Environment. Her poetry and fiction has appeared in such places as Prick of the Spindle, Rosebud, Fogged Clarity, and Verse Wisconsin. She is at work on a novel about magicians, enjoys making doughnuts, and is otherwise awesome. Follow her on Twitter @PintsNCupcakes or check out her blog Pints and Cupcakes.

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