_HEIC.png)
_HEIC.png)
Benni Pool
Fountains of Youth
I watched the old woman, her lips puckering before the cigarette had even been lifted from its disease-ridden cardboard bed by her feeble, determined grasp. A temporary flicker of hope and youth flashes against her eyes & her face is transformed. Suddenly a 16 year old girl stands in her place and is lighting her first cigarette, anticipating a violent coughing fit. But instead as she inhales, her face relaxes & washes over with a wave of pure pleasure. As she exhales a plume of lazy drifting smoke her face is painted with her effortless and entrancing grin. The smile forces itself into the creases of the woman’s skin, the cigarette resting between her fingers at the brink of her lips. The youth drains from her eyes and crow’s feet branch from her eyelids as they sink & the skin below her eyes goes purple. The smoke melts her, brow sliding lower and cheeks sagging away from the bones that have worked so hard to create a frame for flesh. The edges of the smile cement into the deep valleys of the old woman’s skin, wrinkles replacing the effortless smile with a hollow pained expression.
-November 2nd, 2015 Brooklyn, NY
The Source
There’s a well.
A crumbling, grey cobbled pit into the earth
At a distance one hears twinkling, trickles
echoes of movement
Stepping closer
a rush of deep tones
light twinkling, trickles ride
As if a rambling creek
hovered
over
a channel of furious tumultuous
liquid.
The bucket is bottomless
No water can be drawn
But on occasion
water rises and bubbles
flowing over cracked stones
Tiny rivulets filling gaps
cascading
in miniscule
w
a
t
e
r
falls
until they reach the earth
once more
If you put your ear to the earth
allow blades of grass to pierce
your fragile skin
hear her
draining, pulling,
Recalling
water to her source
The creek is enchanting
The river is terrifying
The creek has no power
or a quiet power
The river screams
I tried to dry out the river
but I found the creek lost her magic
The river holds it all
Nothing can be stuck or hidden
Breaking down to sand and sediment
I see inside myself
a tunnel of fire
Through which a freezing
river runs
Yes, that’s a lot.
Too much for some.
Not everyone wants the most thrilling ride.
Some prefer lazy rivers and bumper cars
to speed slides and roller coasters
-April 1st, 2021 Gig Harbor, WA
Benni is a white resident of invested duwamish/salish ancestral land in Washington state. They are a non-binary multi-faceted artist with a Drama BFA from NYU Tisch ('16). Benni's most recent work leans into the forms of burlesque, drag & theatrical performance. You can find their drag persona Princess Pillow on Instagram (@pillow.pool). They are heavily influenced by their previous work as a childhood educator and caregiver. *They would also like to note that they do not condone violence towards animals (including humans) & their cat son, Colby Jack, was not harmed in the making of this video piece.*