Allegorical Self-Portrait as The False Guinevere

Darksome other,
twin, sister
in us all,
I can steal your
selfhood right from under you.
I can slither into your bed sheets,
fit into your silken brocade,
filch your fine ephemera,
braid your crown into my hair,
deceive your knights,
and take your husband into my legs.
Let’s be honest, he doesn’t know
the subtle differences between
women, between sisters.
If in the most melding of moments
he cannot detect a knock-off,
what good is he, sister?
Now, you’ve already cuckolded
him, and you have your pretty, muscled man.
I, the so-called lesser version of you,
just want some of the spoils, some of the spotlight.
I just want a day in the life of the starlet
before I retreat into obscurity again–
your velvets and furs tucked under my arms.

Carleen Tibbetts earned her B.A. in English from Loyola Marymount University and her M.A. in English from CSU Northridge. Her work has appeared in Ancora Imparo, BluePrint Review, Redheaded Stepchild Magazine, The Northridge Review, and LA Miscellany.

*Photo courtesy of Dnz Aqmi.