Needles Poem by Hannah Hebditch

Woken up- I’m dreaming now
A fire bird swoops over my shoulder leaving a
Flame bleeding cracked lines down my silk dress as I crush
Its heated intensity beneath my black and white blanket,
Woven from the dusty wool suffocating across the room and
A few button eyes from the dolls dying in the drawer

Then I’m dragged from my cardboard bed creating
Another bruise on the floorboards, I look up to
See the usual 4 legged creature tearing another hole in my leg
I can see little tuffs of flesh being
Pulled from my almost white skin and something stringy
Unwinding throughout my whole body, but I have no nerves
To feel the excruciation- everything is fine

My owners hand appears with a sharp stick and
Begins to hook my skin back together
Pieces of wool go through my arms, through my legs
A pretty bow is ripped from another dolls hair and placed in mine
Then I’m fixed into position on my couch to see
The view of dolls heads on my
Fence and veins decorating the edges of my house
“she loves me more than you'