a 4-act play by madelyn neal

ACT 1
I’m standing in front of your mom, fingers
Twitching at her sides, blindly grasping at your
           Silhouette
                                  Stamped onto a silver chain,
Glistening obnoxiously on a hollowed chest // empty // stained // suffocated

                                                                                                                          She isn’t fixable.

ACT 2
Collar bones protrude as she bends forward
           Committing herself wholly to eating a slice of          Cake.

(She’s been put back together by a 3 year old | projects her anger into nurturing | care- taking
           But he doesn’t understand. And maybe deep down she hates him for not
           Missing you                 More.)

ACT 3
She’s comfortable         being worse.
She’s comfortable         not eating | leading support groups

But what am I to say? : if skipping meals and teaching

              Orphaned parents        the task of essential deception is her way of honoring you, fine.

                                                                                                                               She isn’t fixable.
                                                                                                                 But you could have been.

​ACT 4
I’m expecting another phone call. Or a Facebook upload : a sunflower tramp stamp.

             Everyone grieves in their own way
                                                              But please God,
​                                                        Let it be the tattoo.

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Madelyn is a high school senior who will be attending Miami University the fall of 2017 and has previously self-published a book entitled Project: Hope, that describes the plight of refugees once they move to the States. She is an aspiring poet who is passionate about literature and creative writing, as well as coffee, 80s movies, and travel. Her favorite authors are Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Jane Austen, J.D. Salinger, Charlotte Brontë, among countless others. Madelyn's work has previously been published in Underscore Review, and she hopes to have her first collection of poetry published in 2018.
Links: blog, Project Hope