Francesca Rainosek
They braided death lilies
into their hair and seduced
the men with nothing more
than a fleeting glance.
And Echo, darling Echo,
wore a babydoll dress of oxblood tulle
and laced her combat boots
with tarry ribbons.
Two house sparrows
were permanently hennaed into
the skin of her inner arms—
weighing down her marble veins.
She laughed and danced
along with the rest of them,
while mutely longing for the one
who smelled of lavender,
amber, and pipe tobacco—
the one who drowned
in a pool of purple flowers.
All the while, Zeus
kept taking the oreads
to the Champagne Room.
They let their guards down
along with their hair,
took their tops off,
and danced until their heels bled.
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