As Seen On TV

AS SEEN ON TV

She wore this dress with intentions of suicide.
A kaleidoscope of colors arranged to form a pattern
like thirteen geese heading north
to enter the storm. V-shaped in flight,
but abundantly closer to one another that time.
This dress it was, as seen, on TV,
slightly altered, but dangerously crimson in shade.
Almost like swimming in a bathtub of fire ants,
it caused her blue to red to spill. To drain,
to drown the ants in a puddle of dark, thickened
hemorrhages. Its sapphire hue was distinctly measured
in frill and fringe and ruffle thin. To keep
the pieces intact, to water down the red.
To unfasten the window that
stuck itself to the sill’s frost.
The purple and green stood out
in scattered, battered blotches from top
to bottom to corners. Painfully outlined
in yellow dismantled circles
this dress was seen on TV floating in a bathtub.
A razorblade keeping the water from
falling down the drain
to pipes to there. Out there. The dress
was short and long enough to reach over the porcelain
to the floor, to the door and underneath the wood
to the carpet. But not strong enough to
want to. Floating in cold water heavy
the stains, stayed inside of the fabric
and remained upon her body, as seen, on TV.


I wrote this poem for my Creative Writing: Poetry class my senior year in college last year, 2008. This is the first poem I have chosen to be included in my poetry book that I have decided to compile for future publication besides my novel. I am very proud of the turnout of this poem and it was written with a different style than what I am used to writing in a way. My influence sparked from a personal matter as well as from the media, so it hits home a bit. Other than that, it was very fun to write!