now she is a traveller
I saw her from a distance, gray and grim, as if she'd been crucified on the truck's radiator grill. But when I went up for a closer look, there was something more to her.
At first glance, she looked abused, another poor tortured toy. I'd seen plenty of teddy bears on radiator grills over the years, a few cabbage patch dolls and the odd smurf. One of these days, I imagine I'll see a Blythe on a radiator grill and won't that be a photo op!
But the longer I looked, the less sure I was that she was tortured at all. She'd ridden long and hard on the front of that truck. Her dress was in tatters and much of her face was gone. Yet she was still smiling. Still, smiling, think of that.
She had an eerie Children of the Corn meets the Wicker Man air about her. And I realized that she had been transformed and was inhabited by one of the old ones, something fierce and gray and blind and female and powerful. And I realized that whoever had strapped her to this truck was playing with fire. A victim she may have started, but now SHE was in control.
I saw a couple of guys twiddling with a utility box across the street. I walked over to them, stepping through puddles of slush, glad my shoes were warm and waterproof.
"Hey, I like your doll!"
The fellow nearest me gave a start and looked up.
"Yeah," He grinned, but seemed a bit anxious about my comment. "I found her. You should have seen her. I wired her to the grill." His grin became deeper and his eyes widened as he remembered his mischief. "Her clothes have worn away."
"So has her face." I hollered back over the road noise.
"She's been on there for years." He said.
"She's still smiling though, did you notice? She's still smiling."
He looked very uncomfortable again. I continued, "Does she have a name? Surely, you gave her a name. What's her name?"
"No name." He wanted this conversation over, I could tell. He glanced over at the truck and I do believe she made him anxious now.
I looked at her and felt the opposite. She was a fellow traveller. I felt solidarity with her, with all the gray worn female deities.
"She needs a name. She's a road warrior for sure. No eyes, and still she smiles. And that dress? She's exploded out of it like the incredible Hulk, like a superhero. You need to give her a name. She's awesome."
And with that, I left.
But I did take these pictures to share with you. Let me know if you see her.
now she is a traveller
I saw her from a distance, gray and grim, as if she'd been crucified on the truck's radiator grill. But when I went up for a closer look, there was something more to her.
At first glance, she looked abused, another poor tortured toy. I'd seen plenty of teddy bears on radiator grills over the years, a few cabbage patch dolls and the odd smurf. One of these days, I imagine I'll see a Blythe on a radiator grill and won't that be a photo op!
But the longer I looked, the less sure I was that she was tortured at all. She'd ridden long and hard on the front of that truck. Her dress was in tatters and much of her face was gone. Yet she was still smiling. Still, smiling, think of that.
She had an eerie Children of the Corn meets the Wicker Man air about her. And I realized that she had been transformed and was inhabited by one of the old ones, something fierce and gray and blind and female and powerful. And I realized that whoever had strapped her to this truck was playing with fire. A victim she may have started, but now SHE was in control.
I saw a couple of guys twiddling with a utility box across the street. I walked over to them, stepping through puddles of slush, glad my shoes were warm and waterproof.
"Hey, I like your doll!"
The fellow nearest me gave a start and looked up.
"Yeah," He grinned, but seemed a bit anxious about my comment. "I found her. You should have seen her. I wired her to the grill." His grin became deeper and his eyes widened as he remembered his mischief. "Her clothes have worn away."
"So has her face." I hollered back over the road noise.
"She's been on there for years." He said.
"She's still smiling though, did you notice? She's still smiling."
He looked very uncomfortable again. I continued, "Does she have a name? Surely, you gave her a name. What's her name?"
"No name." He wanted this conversation over, I could tell. He glanced over at the truck and I do believe she made him anxious now.
I looked at her and felt the opposite. She was a fellow traveller. I felt solidarity with her, with all the gray worn female deities.
"She needs a name. She's a road warrior for sure. No eyes, and still she smiles. And that dress? She's exploded out of it like the incredible Hulk, like a superhero. You need to give her a name. She's awesome."
And with that, I left.
But I did take these pictures to share with you. Let me know if you see her.