Charleton Puppet

And upon the box he stood,

Reading cards

He was thought to have memorized

In a voice he borrowed

From someone else,

They were words not his own,

But how well he spoke them,

Gesturing this way and that,

Smiling on cue

As behind the scenes

Someone else pulled strings

Controlling his movements

Playing with his thoughts

Molding them into clay sculptures

To move along a chess board

He had never seen,

That he didn’t have the capacity

To understand,

He was a mask

Meant to be worn

Only for a short time-

The glitches that followed

His never-ending babble

Surprised even the makers,

A toy gone array,

More apt for war than play,

A wonderful notion,

Creating a bitter reality,

The nightmare of things

When the puppet is put in place

And expected to act

With a brain.

Katrina Thornley is a nature poet. novelist, and freelance journalist that resides in Rhode Island. She has two poetry collections currently published, a novel, as well as a short story anthology. Her poetry collections "Arcadians: Lullaby in Nature" and "Arcadians: Wooden Mystics" were inspired by a local park and life in her small rural town. You can find them on Amazon now!

Also, be sure to give her a follow on Instagram (@seekatwrite).

Don't forget to head over to Kindle Vella and read "Camp Terror"! You can read the first 3 episodes for free.