Velvet Boxes

once I had a china doll
I dropped her and she broke
and it broke my heart
to see her perfect face smashed

they bought me another doll that looked just the same
but I knew
that my baby doll was in the trash
with a broken head
satin dress covered in coffee grounds

little girls should not be playing in the trash, they said
come open your gift…

my new doll was beautiful
but she was a lie
and I hated her

she slept in her velvet box while Annie lay in garbage
but I carried the impostor up to my room like a traitor

I studied her cold hands, her dead stare
and I knew what would happen to me if I broke

little girls and china dolls are the same
you see

broken little girls rot in velvet boxes
and their china dolls are hidden away in trash cans

either way
be careful not to let your cracks show

Reviews

[terry smith]

little girls and china dolls are the same you see!!! You should be published!!

[Shimmerbliss/CAF]

I felt this poem intensely. When you have loved something so much you can recognize an impostor. For some reason this brings thoughts of The Velveteen Rabbit to my mind...a story that to this day can make me cry. Saying goodbye, so final, all the broken things that we still love but others do not see the beauty in....tossed away...irreplaceable. That you lead from the loss of your doll to the realization of damage on a greater scale, and leave us with those last incredibly chilling lines is a testament to your insight and depth, and to your writing excellence. Wow.

[Elizabeth]

The Velveteen Rabbit has always haunted me. Thank you so much for the kind words.

[Shimmerbliss/CAF]

Me, too.

[Pickleby Davies]

Sad in a twisted way. You're an amazingly talented writer with vivid imagery and twisted truths. Keep it up pleeassee!

[FJ Davis]

How many different ways I could interpret that last line--all of which, I suspect, you intended.
Since I find both china dolls and little girls to be a little creepy, I probably should recuse myself from even commenting on this poem. It's just that after being profoundly traumatized by "In Effigy," I gratefully came here, on-the-run; thinking a velvet box would have to be a very pleasant experience; something I could, at least, intelligently review.
I was wrong.

[Matthew Kult]

Vivid imagery. Well thought out and constructed. Makes me think of true love, and how easy it shatters but you never forget...Ah love....a silly emotion at times, but an emotion every must have if just for a doll.

Great read and write.

Matthew

[Derek S.Keck]

It seems like once that symbolic virginity of everything is torn down it’s never the same again. I was capturing a sense of that death of childhood innocence and that bitterness of never again having that fresh start, first time experience. This is a beautiful poem and I think you’re a poetic genius.

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

This is so so good - it has brought tears to my eyes, i feel your words .. such a comparison , such truth and your writing is always beautiful...
Love it Elizabeth.

Chloe

[paul]

'satin dress in coffee grounds' -excellent

and the following stanza is just, brilliant.

the last five stanzas are freakin excellent
i love it

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Some very interesting and thought provoking analogies... I could see this poem ranging from the price of trying to be perfect the pain of innocence lost too soon.