by Nick Gisburne
We find her at the focus of the blast
Untouched, a child, alone, survives it all
Around her, stacked in circles, are amassed
Her playmates, puppets, friends who did not fall
She lifts a finger, smiles a silent threat
Directing them, her sleeping slaves, to dance
And we, before we know it, are beset
By terrors too impossible for chance
The clockwork creatures, dolls of her design
Attack the seams and seals along our suits
Efficient, swift and vicious, they combine
To strip our bodies, even to the boots
The surge of radiation burns our skin
As laughter draws a dimple on her chin
