You said you were aging
like fine wine
but you’ve oxidated
Full of air and still out-dated
If you give me enough time I just might hate this

Maybe years from now I’ll find you on a shelf, waiting
and wonder how you might have tasted

And she said
Don’t bleach your hair
If it makes you feel pretty
Or wear high heels
You’re already tall
Enough
You might take up s. P. A. C. E.

She said
A woman shouldn’t be loud
Or too confident
Because that might be threatening
To someone
Who?
Like I grew claws

And she said
Don’t think too much
How can you run a home
With your head in the clouds
To dream is to dare
Forbid it
Daring isn’t ****

How dare I

What if girls stopped painting their faces,
and painted canvases instead?
Imagine!
Picasso as a 21st century woman.
Painting bird wings on her head.

Two faces and no spine.
How unusual that would be!

What if girls stopped painting their faces,
and painted canvases instead?
What now?
Warhol as a 21st century woman.
Bright pink hair on her head.

Repeated images on a screen.
How unusual that would be!

I want to strangle you with the syrup
that drips around your voice
You say we’ll move to Paris
Paris?
Do you recall your brother,
my lover?
Have you mistaken him with another?
Or is greed a dark veil over your eyes?
           That follow me
My name a whispered curse on your lips?
           You bring too close
We won’t move to Paris
Paris

But will you ever know?

What say you?
Man in a business suit
Standing to my left
In the middle of a crosswalk
Do you have a moment to talk?
Orange hands and little green men
And we go on our way
       Okay
         We’ll chat another day

What say you?
Man in a business suit
Standing to my right
On Martin Luther and Lime
You haven’t worried about money in a while.
But where is your smile?
Do you know your child?
      Please
        Spare a moment of your time

What say you?
Men in business suits
Walking fast on the street
Somewhere important to be
Do rats sometimes think racing is fun?
I never thought about that
When I said I was done
              Maybe
               I am one of the lucky ones