Sakura,
Clad in a dress of fragile pink and white
Blowing in the breeze to a thousand notes,
The hardest pitch to play; to sing.
An ephemeral, delightful movement of life's song,
First four minutes of a symphony half an hour long
Muted by the gardener, cut short by fertilizers:
Now Sakura trades her dress for a suit of bright cherry vermillion.
Mother Eden wept at her child's price tag of a million.
With sunglasses and red lipstick and those heels too high
Checking her reflection before every stride
Now Sakura's forgotten how to enjoy her life.
Dress been sold to the highest bidder
Traded for a mansion and a hall of mirrors
Yeah she's buying shiny cars to fill up the garage
She's got the mortgage and the keys
and she's shooting for five stars.
Living her life for this American dream
Any red blooded Yankee would swear her in as queen!
Perfection infection needs a correction—
a cessation of striving for this false satisfaction.
Dream's a euphemism, hear—
we've got to take some action!
Now, let's take a walk on the dark side of Sakura.
Maybe she's using spyware or stealing ID with a hacker
If she's got an IOU or if she wants a few more smackers.
Adult responsibilities are giving her the willies
Although in glorious childhood she thought they were all silly.
She's doing knee bends to get in on that skinny
Just striving to be the ideal beauty.
Her busy work sees no end
Without a second for friends.
Well if Sakura's a cherry it won't mean she can't be sweet
Rather than tart and under ripe like a bird who's lost its tweet.
The math to adding another year
Is baking a cake with another tier
Still that tasty pastry except it's big enough for Cake Boss
No need to ditch that favorite jam for highfalutin mint sauce.
There's no need to climb much farther; the top will topple soon
Can't make it to the stars? You'll be happy with the moon.
When the gamers go climbing the societal ladder
They're still worth no more than a poisonous adder
The rungs are all companions used and abused
'Cause to a player, they're just pawns on a chessboard confused.
A knight with his rhino and his floor-length speculum
Only aggravates a damsel's insatiable tantalum.
So, Sakura, this isn't funny
No you don't need more money
Cherry girl, forget the bling
You'll live without ten-K gold rings
Just helps block out what's truly sunny—
Life is bigger than a king.
YOU ARE READING
Cross-Sections
PoetrySometimes, we like to dissect our thoughts. They run amok, going in random directions, taking us to places we've never been before. Sometimes, we like to dissect our lives. Hence the term slice-of-life: fresh and funny, raw and emotional, honest and...