A Sonnet for Mr Spaghetti-Head
His ham-hock neck strains the collar she pressed.
If she were more crafty (Marielle says),
she would scale the mountainous folds of flesh
to mark up the circumference of his head
and in the absence of a sewing kit,
she'd take the can-opener from the sink,
lift his scalp like the lid of a cockpit,
peer inside and see what he really thinks.
If she had the stomach and his brute strength,
she’d empty the tin-spaghetti contents
unravel his noodle-brains to full length,
and dry them on hangers as ornaments.
Mr Spaghetti-Head loves Marielle
the same way the Beast loves his hostage, Belle.
Megan Cartwright is a poet, dramatist and college Literature teacher. She lives in Canberra, Australia on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. Her writing has featured in print and online in publications including Barrelhouse, Contemporary Verse 2, Cordite Poetry Review, Island, Marrow Magazine and Radon Journal, among others.
You can follow her on Instagram:@megancartwrightpoet, or read a selection of published work here: HOME | Megan Cartwright