Lady Phoebe Drowning in Quicksand

Lady Phoebe Drowning in Quicksand

By Ilyin Costello

Recently, she's been knee-deep 

spray-painting shitty graffiti

in what is guaranteed to be quicksand.

And it need not be said that

Phoebe would look better in a beanie

to tuck back the greasy black strands

that get in the way of her cans

that litter the sandy canvas.

Underneath the street where anyone greedy 

for a little dopamine can turn into a human

smoke machine and live lavishly with swollen

knees at an underground social scene with 

broken needles, junkies leaning out in the open, 

and the locals think that Phoebe and her artistry

could pay for her to live easily but she couldn't leave 

the sand that is now just above her waist.

She never thinks about who she'd be 

if someone freed her from this beach

beneath the street that steals beaten teens

with beady eyes and no beliefs,

who are looking for a quick release or

a little abuse of their own.

The shoreline sits at her shoulders.