For Betty Lou Jensen
Who was killed by the Zodiac
December 1968
Age 16
A mock image,
offspring of
your imagination…
that green
papier-mâché dragon.
In art class,
I heard the intermittent
ripping of paper,
and your occasional laugh.
The ripping echoes
In my mind,
even now.
That ripping
was permanent.
But, I didn’t know
until later.
You deftly pressed the
glue-sodden
paper shreds
to the wire frame
and papier-mâché slowly crept
around the wire skeleton.
Your dragon was
coming alive…
Finally,
as you brush-stroked the skin,
a green tint emerged.
Your dragon
Was eyeless,
But then,
It was unfinished.
When you didn’t return…
Your eyeless green dragon
was left in the in the art closet –
right where you placed it.
Maybe our teacher said
to himself,
“I am grieved
that that this work of art
has no eyes…
has not been finished…
will never be finished.”
Or, maybe he thought,
“Could someone else finish
Betty Lou’s green dragon?
“Could someone else give
it eyes?”
“Could someone else
swish the brush and
match
the exact tint you had imagined?”
I only knew what I was thinking,
when I creaked open
the art closet door
and saw
the eyeless green dragon
awaiting the finishing flick
of the paintbrush.
No eyes,
Yet, I could feel it staring at me,
imparting thoughts past reason,
seeping,
to the fleshy core of my heart.
I felt the injustice.
I felt the absolute evil,
of the demon who stole your eyes…
silenced your laugh.
Years later I surmised…
maybe the eyeless green dragon
was finished after all.
© 2010 Nathalie Taylor
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