There’s something not stable about her. And … she’s got this gaggle of women that she’s mentoring that are not doing well. – Mark Vicente

The young ingénue, playing the witty

and pretty best friend to the Super.

You’re the Pied Piper, these women want 

to follow you into the unknown.

They trust you to lead them through fields—

Towards a bright sky blue salvation. 

They don’t see, you grasping at the air

trying to steady yourself, how your own eyes

are wrapped one hundred times with cellophane. 

They don’t know the tune inside your head, leads you 

and them to the cliffs—how even if

you all survive the fall, shore and serenity

are more than a day’s swim away.

The melody haunts you—you want it

to feel like warm caramel. You want 

these women to feast on your wisdom—

worship you like a goddess. Bring you 

lotus blossoms, marigolds and roses.

Pretend you are floating instead

of rapidly sinking into quicksand.



Marisa Silva-Dunbar’s work has been published in Pink Plastic House, IceFloe Press, Mineral Lit Mag, Rising Phoenix Review, and Ghost Heart Lit. Marisa is the founder and EIC of Neon Mariposa Magazine. She has work forthcoming in Sledgehammer Lit, and Better Than Starbucks Magazine and the Eyes Wide Shut anthology “Denmark.” You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @thesweetmaris.