Defiance

I go outside in shorts and a graphic T-shirt, enveloped by the biting autumn rain

My 75 and sunny

The yellow slickers and umbrellas fear the girl who bares her arms and hair to the droplets

They don't know their stares encourage her valiant trek

I see your mouth moving, but no sound comes out

Your words are replaced with Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture

The straight-haired and bundled detest the cobwebs and bloodstains on her tights

They are confused by her daily Halloween ice dance

I streak sable death across my vision and trace tacky anger on my lips.

My soul leaks in macabre pigments from my pores.

The eyebrow shapers and salmon-toned pufferfish are shocked by this peregrine.

Their food chain is threatened by the exotic presence.

I dream of escaping asylums, mystic masquerade balls, and caged pigs who eat tongues.

Creativity that extends beyond slumber.

The beanies and infinity scarves squabble about meeting celebrities, flying, and falling within sleep.

Their stories are lost on her ears that have heard them a thousand times before.

I devour my meals at a cornered table.

My own company befits