Plucking Angels

Louis Boulanger 1806-1867, "Witch's Sabbath"(Souvenir of Victor Hupo), 1828, Lithograph

Plucking Angels

The sun is fat
pregnant with hydrogen angels.
They scrutinize, take notes,
and pinch dreams
from sunburned flesh
with scorched tweezers.

But tweezers fail in prolific dreamers
and they must initiate
more drastic measures.

The soul is removed.
Ripped from charred flesh,
thrust in a prism
and inundated with sunlight.
(This forces the dreamer
to show their true colors
in vibrant agonizing detail.)

Naked, burnt and
placed on public display,
these imprismed souls
try to shut constricted eyes
only to realize
their lids are stapled
to their brow
in order for them to fully face
the sun’s radiant ridicule.

Later,
when the gloating glaring orb
sets with a brilliant yawn
after a day full of taunts and smirks…

The night whispers soothing songs
during the witching hour
and the moon re-plants
the dreaming seeds
deep within the soul, hidden
far from the plucking angels.