Stepford Stanzas | Erasure Poems by Azia Archer

I’ve been wasting time

I’m more

myself now

—

The women bleed for God’s sake

Man would convince her

to bleed without argument

—

She unfolded—

pulling the silence

into a quiet

storm

—

The country and presidential

figures are hunting The Daughters

of Heaven

—

She opened steadily

expanding…

a fire quickly

formed of purpose

—

concocting questions for women

with outside interests to

develop their character

—

I noticed you’ve become

honestly awful,

really

—

you’re going to change

into an irrational pick me

and need a psychiatrist

he said shaking his head

—

The bullshit changed

into a house

on fire

—

Source text: Levin, Ira. The Stepford Wives. New York: Random House, 1972. Print. Pg 85

Her immaculate appearance

was nonsense

all wrong

—

A game

of concentration

was better than

the hospital

—

Source text: Levin, Ira. The Stepford Wives. New York: Random House, 1972. Print. Pg 79

becoming a hermit

left her holding

a mixed blessing

—

Source text: Levin, Ira. The Stepford Wives. New York: Random House, 1972. Print. Pg 74

I saw beauty

changing, a fake

smile behind

dark eyes; caged

patronizing

—

zombie-ized mother was

looking bland— dead

to interest,

to want

—

Source text: Levin, Ira. The Stepford Wives. New York: Random House, 1972. Print. Pg 67

help had been

burning to be free

and the fire’s

still burning

—

Source text: Levin, Ira. The Stepford Wives. New York: Random House, 1972. Print. Pg 63

want is

not unequivocal

if it

costs your mind

—

Source text: Levin, Ira. The Stepford Wives. New York: Random House, 1972. Print. Pg 60

I must sound crazy

to a normie

—

Source text: Levin, Ira. The Stepford Wives. New York: Random House, 1972. Print. Pg 55