by Rachel Cunniffe
The girl encased in glass
Is easy enough to break through to save
But she’ll bleed from the cuts
Wrestle with her own skin healing, uncomfortable.
The girl packaged in polystyrene
Enjoys the new found freedom
Of movement, stretches then fears
The shape of safety she left behind.
The girl in cellophane shrink wrap
Leaves little to be desired,
casually torn off, discarded
To dance along pavements in the breeze.
The girl in plastic veneer
Withstands all sorts of knocks
And scratches, but she’s tough
Except for weak unbending joints.
Only the girl in rubber
Stands aloof and flexible
When greedy fingertips reachout
Disconcerted and confused.
Rachel Cunniffe is based in the North East of England and has written a wide range of poetry since being a teenager, has a MA in Writing Studies gained in 1995 from Edgehill University College.
Real jobs stifled her creativity for 16 years and she has recently been able to partially retire and spend more time writing again. She has been a member of several creative writing groups one of which has been in existence since 1991.
She read regularly at the now sadly no more Callender Poetry Festival in September during that time for about 9 years. She lives with a large black dog and two cats.
