SAVE FACE
by Marissa Lucatorto

You

You
You who invade my dreams
Attack my mind
Enrage my spirit
You
Who comes to me
When it is dark
When no one else is around
When everything is quiet, silent, still
You
Who make me think terrible thoughts
Make me dread simple occurrences
Strip me bare until I don’t know who I am
You

You bitch
You bastard
Who kills me so pleasingly
So slick, so rapid
That you barely think twice
Before doing so
You
Who tortures my mind
Let me be
You

And when tonight I lay down
Shaking, trembling, quaking
Don’t come into my room
Don’t come into my head
Don’t penetrate my heart
Because you
You
Don’t know
You
Don’t care

You made it clear
Long ago
That circumstance
Had divided us
You

Save Face

The mask I’ve worn has crumbled,
its pieces scattered now.
I cannot hide my feelings,
nor put on a plastic smile.
The line that I once drew,
they violently have crossed.
And yet they expect,
that I’ll stand by and watch.
The mask I’ve worn is lost now,
but won’t be long ‘til it is found.
And I in turn will wear it,
to please the endless crowd.

About the Author:

Marissa E. Lucatorto is a full time student at the University of Pittsburgh, where she studies Italian culture and language. Currently, she is working on a collection of short stories and is often found scrawling poetry at late hours of the night.