# February Challenge: "False Fronts"



## Chesters Daughter (Feb 1, 2018)

*AS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED, IF YOU ENTER THE CHALLENGE, YOU MUST CAST AT LEAST ONE VOTE IN THE POLL. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN YOUR ENTRY BEING DISQUALIFIED.

*The prompt for this month's challenge, as chosen by me is: *False Fronts*

You are free to interpret the prompt in any way you wish, though of course, site rules apply. If you are unsure of the challenge rules please read the 'stickies' at the top of the board. *Please note that all entries* *are eligible to receive critique in the voting thread.* 

*The inclusion of explanatory text or links of any kind within an entrant's challenge entry is prohibited and will be immediately removed upon discovery. As always, only one entry per member is permitted.

*As previously announced, anonymous entries have been abolished, therefore, entrants must post their own entries in this thread, or if you desire to protect first rights, please post your entry in the *workshop thread*, and then post a link to it here in the public thread. *Failure to do so runs the risk of your entry being disqualifie**d*, so if you require assistance with the task, please PM *me*, and I will gladly help you.

If your entry contains strong language or mature content, *please include a disclaimer in your title.

*Kindly make sure your entry is properly formatted and error free before you submit. You have a *ten minute grace period* to edit your piece, but anything edited after that will likely see your entry excluded from the challenge. 
*
Do not post comments in this thread. Any discussion related to the challenge can take place in the Bards' Bistro. 

Everyone may now use the "Like" function whenever they so choose.



This challenge will close on the 15th of February at 7pm EST.**
*


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## sas (Feb 3, 2018)

*Breakfast*

White becomes yellow when beaten.
Scrambled to be invisible; camouflaged
as a sunnier color, altered with the mood 
ring she gave him, changing each morning 
as eggs tumble in her belly full of empty. 


.


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## andrewclunn (Feb 5, 2018)

Thots About Beauty

Mascara lashes and blue contacts
Bustier up front and spanx in back
Foundation and blush improve complexion
Face perfectly framed by hair extensions
Rhinoplasty nose and collagen lips
Tucked in tummy and liposuction hips
Snapchats run through a filter program
Photoshopped pictures on Instagram
Spray tan, bottle blonde, too much perfume smell
Plastic barbie body made from Mattel


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## TuesdayEve (Feb 5, 2018)

Camouflage 

A warm tear sneaks from the eye down the cheek
embroidered stain sewn with heartache and guilt

Laughter smears way through nervous conflict
cools the words boiled in bad blood’s oil

Eyes forward past deep sheltered secrets
mewl dreams trumpet inherent truth

A glance in the mirror the savage looks back
perfect white teeth the lure for the trap


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## Firemajic (Feb 6, 2018)

*There ARE Monsters In Fairytales.....*

*Once upon a time
we could have saved each other
Now our disease can only be erased 
by innocent hands
entwined in our sickness
I can't find any way to rewrite us

We share the same genetics 
indelibly inked on the same page
self destruction spelled out in short lines
a script that cannot be changed
and that scares the shit out of me

I look the other way
not wanting your disease
inscribed on my eyelids 
I already see it in my fingerprints
and your pain is tattooed on my ribs 

Pretending nothing has changed 
you share your tattered 
battered umbrella
scant shelter for two sick siblings
huddled under illusions

Look into my sorrow!
Scavenge my memory dumpster
maybe you can decipher
my discarded mind scribbles
then cover them with your graffiti 
and illustrate our Fairytale

Blind to my decline
effortless I tripped
fell down that rabbit hole
into your make believe world
tell me what you read
in my storybook eyes

Cover your mouth when you SCREAM.....


*


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## midnightpoet (Feb 6, 2018)

*Silent, feral eyes
hide behind soft, phantom smiles
closed doors, truth will bite

Plastic enhancements
silicone grins, wider hips
double d growth spurt

McMansions showcase
manicured lawns, brick facades
hate, violence grows



*


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## Chesters Daughter (Feb 7, 2018)

*Showfolk*

The bit players
of a never cancelled drama
learn to live their lies
delivering lines
to reflections that reveal
what they pretend to see,
painstakingly painted faces
screaming happy.

With half-smile and slight nod
they call upon cued prompts
and proudly pipe up
"Good Morning" to passersby.
Most deserve accolades 
for their performances.
Those fencing with foreclosure
or dueling with depression
cheerfully chat with hostages 
held by habits -
cutters, shooters, bingers and neat freaks
all equally bound and gagged
by their obsessions,

yet they never break character.

I watch the exchange
as bile takes the elevator
to my esophagus
then shimmies up into my mouth
in a dance of disgust
to sour my tongue
and belabor a barricade
of firmly cemented lips.

An elephantine effort
in pelican pantomime
sends it barreling back down
to the empty basement.
Who am I to deny
the show must go on?

With props of cardboard tent,
raggedy wardrobe, a baggie of bliss,
and a coffee can 
to catch cast-off quarters,
my blackened stumps
broadly beam a grin 
not easily dismissed or forgotten.
My stroke stricken mind
replies in kind
slurring back the only line
I can still recall
from my heyday on the A List,
when on occasion 
dawn
actually was delectable.

Word on the street is
I'm a shoe-in for best actress 
at next year's Oscars
providing my SAG card
isn't revoked 
by the Director-in-chief.

You'd be surprised 
at what a lovely mantle
a cracked curb makes.

As sunset snaps off the spotlight
an unspoken "cut"
sends showfolk scurrying 
to scour caked makeup.
No sense sullying the shams
during the nightly toss and turn
battling an array of disarrays.

Even with curtain closed
and house lights dimmed,
still, they can't break character

nor could I,
which is why
I opted for the freedom
afforded 
by my steadfast stand-in



Mr. Heroin.


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## Darkkin (Feb 7, 2018)

*Numb:  Places Unseen*

Numb:  A Place Unseen


A place beyond sleep, too tired, even for tears,
beyond the cage of seething, feral rage.
This is a place called Numb—
A dark place, Numb, where the soul is deaf and dumb.

Logic is lost; humour buried in a shallow grave.
The ghost of a smile, a smile taunting, its memory haunting—
Shadows ringing eyes, purple as a pugilist’s coveted prize.
Escape blocked by a cage, a beast of seething feral rage.

Alone and raw, but the mask is too good—A task,
life where no one tries to see, a mind no longer free.
A brutal endurance found, holding, yet never gaining ground,
alone, tensile strength of character, tested at savage length.

Madness, not the beautiful kind, as chaos spawns the stars.
Nobody left behind to fight—Running silent through the night.
Slipping, shattered and downed—Truth in a bucket, found.
Beneath the weight a mask, cracks.  Nobody, call out, look back.

Echo, words caught on the fly—Lore, surging, do or die,
chasing a diminishing spiral of gold—Nobody, a story told.
Hold on tight—fight—hold on—even when falling seems so right.
Toes grip, a milkweed seed takes flight—Nobody, hold on tight.


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## Pelwrath (Feb 7, 2018)

*A Semblance*

*A Semblance*



Ignore those naysayers,
they don’t understand.
I’II protect your soul
allowing emotions to flow.
I’ll cry for you,
when nightmares overcome.
I’ll laugh and smile,
so you don’t let others down.
You’ll have no need to fear me,
the name you selected, fits me so well.
At midnight's hour,
we’ll finally part
I’ll let you fly, like a dove
With me you get all the love,
Because you’re so brittle,
I’ll ask so little.
I’m your creation,
and you’re my loving burden.
I’ll handle your guilt,
correct your shame.
And never let you forget, who you are.


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## ned (Feb 9, 2018)

*Respect*

. 
if I believed the moon was cheese
quite probably
you'd laugh at me

but if instead, I also said
that ball of brie
is my deity

should I then expect
your utter respect?



and though a fool
I'd take my kids 
from school

to teach as I please
on matters of cheese

lay down the law
in metaphor

with others of my ilk
regarding mother 
nature's milk

and how it churns 
as it slowly turns

so always faces
our world in phases

forever marking time
surely, a sign 
of the divine



yes, we would grow in number
from dumb 
to dumber

build a temple
of stone and bricks
call ourselves 'lunatics'

inventing prophets 
from history
with revelations of the mystery

it's all there 
just take a look
faithfully transcribed in our sacred book



and should the astronauts 
drill for oil
they'd find cheese beneath the soil

and if not, we know what to say
god is displeased 
in some large way

we'd stand as brothers
blame the others

til holy war 
is begun
with worshippers of the sun

but even that 
would not end it
for within our church there'd be a split

between camembert and mozzarella
with the british of course 
favouring cheddar

in a conflict that rumbles 
on for years
through centuries of blood and tears

taking up the sword 
in his name
and instruct our young to do the same

til all that's left 
is death 
and shame...



and so it came to pass
that once again
I ask

to those of you disaffected

should blind faith 
be respected?


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## Pete_C (Feb 12, 2018)

*Inch (Language Warning)*


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## jenthepen (Feb 13, 2018)

*Enhancement*

 Surgical process
reconfigures a flat mood
 elation busts out


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## aj47 (Feb 15, 2018)

he loved me online
we met in Mississippi
i cannot go home


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## Chesters Daughter (Feb 15, 2018)

This challenge is now closed.


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