The Glass Eater by Mark Tulin – Disquiet Arts

The Glass Eater by Mark Tulin – First published in Disquiet Arts

A haunting portrait of a redeemer who inflicts pain on herself so that others may be free.

 

The Glass Eater

by Mark Tulin

She ate glass 

to distract herself 

from the yearning in her belly,

the crosses in her heart,

the visions in her mind

that were too painful to forget

Her body was a vessel,

a channel from the oppressor

to the weak and vulnerable,

chewing glass to protest

for the mute to hear,

the blind, to see

and the lame to walk

She specialized in fine crystals,

colored glass from cathedral windows,

blown glass from liquid sand,

and never eating mirrors

that reflected the pain

in her image

Her followers held candles 

outside her bedroom window,

pleading for mercy,

begging for impunity,

to be released from her sorry,

and expunged from the past.