Friday, March 11, 2011

How to Make a Trophy


Take a child. Call it
a girl. Show her the confines
of your expectations. Expect
the world from her.

Next, color her to perfection.
Paint her lips, dress her in pink.

Now, rend her body
to the fragments
of your desire.

Finally, pour her
into a golden mold.
Every once in awhile,
dust her off.

© Ami Mattison



21 comments:

  1. Wowwwwwww. That last line is brutal. It reminds me, as I'm sure you intended, of a recipe, or one of those women's magazine articles.

    In fact, I think they run this in Cosmo, every issue.

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  2. Rise up, O Gilded Goddess... break free of these notions and fly free!

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  3. This was sarcasm at its best ! wish people would stop burdening kids with their expectations ..

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  4. nice...well not nice, but...well you understand. its a shame the brainwashing that happens to little girls...i agree with shay....

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  5. Yep - that's scarily accurate. Excellent 55!

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  6. Keep that up until some rich man marries her. What you do when ten years later when he divorces her is the problem.

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  7. this kind of mental creation may never be stopped, it is okay.

    vivid capture of your subject, love your 55.
    Happy Friday.

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  8. This speaks volumes in just 55. Every word true. Oh, the things we do!

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  9. Ami .....
    Brilliant insight My Friend.
    Hard hitting 55.
    I Loved It!
    Thanks for playing, and have a Kick Ass Week-End

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  10. "Show her the confines
    of your expectations. Expect
    the world from her."

    Fantastic expression of the root of much confusion (and low self-esteem perhaps) in many people due to expectations influencing perception. How can one not feel ineffectual when actual confining expectations conflict with the preaching of disingenuous expectations? Sharp write, keen observations, Ami!

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  11. I've got a little Jon Benet Ramsey hologram dancing in my head now, but of course, this craft, or disease, of molding your offspring into your own vampiric life siphon takes many forms. Well said, well done to say it.

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  12. It's a shame that not all can smash that mold.

    Wonderful 55!

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  13. See this so much, and in so many. Well written :)

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  14. One of the best pieces in this week's offerings. Again, utterly frakking perfect.

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  15. A recipe for histories woman. Love this. Nice 55.

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  16. Today you are my writing hero.

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  17. Ah, yes. And do it quickly, so she'll be eternally young.

    I really like this.

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  18. Nice work. Great 55 and I do appreciate the subject and how it's handled. "...dust her off once in awhile."

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  19. Wowww!! What a killer this is!! Written to perfection!! So powerful and effective!!

    Keep dusting her time and again indeed.. so she looks all shiny and new.. Whheeww!!

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  20. this is so eerie....i have been sitting here staring at these words for such a long while...

    am not going to say anything but share with you a poem i wrote recently....

    she wonders if bumble bees feel lonely and mundane too
    tired of monotony ,
    indulge in make believe games few
    sit squat atop that bud ,
    exuding an air of nonchalance
    that focused steely glance....
    so easy to gloss over it all
    amid the prettier flowers and colours of fall
    standing at her door
    she wonders a whole lot more
    focused on mending that blazer and the favorite toy
    why boys
    or for that matter men ....are always allowed to be boys
    she wonders
    if the bumble bee imagines itself
    to be a high tech drone
    like her wearing that fur hat
    playing sultry siren in moments lone
    so easy to gloss over it all
    shift focus
    so easy
    to miss it all..........

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