The Girls

[Thomas Disch's LJ (RSS Feed)]

Their mother had taken so long to die
that by the time she wasn't around any more
to be wheeled about and deferred to,
it was too late. An atmosphere of muffled hate
had stained the blond furniture walnut.
The one law that governed their lives--Don't!--
was graven in their shriveled hearts
for their cancers to gnaw at. No,
that's not true. The word was: Lie.
No, it was Mother, just as it might have been
if they were sailors or prisoners.
They were prisoners. They had been
prisoners all their lives. Now at least
they had a goal worth living for. To die.

(Original Post) (http://tomsdisch.livejournal.com/178136.html)