We live in a country without the taut and slitting threads of a niqab
So we whisper, Thank God
Instead, we bind ourselves in barely-there strings
Lashing tan-bedded skin.
The pink-and-glitter headlines call GET BEACH READY
And we listen.
We've got to glow in just the right way
To catch the eye of the ever-expectant gaze,
Concealing zits, freckles, and military-green welts,

We brush over the truth about a lot of things.

The taste of rejection is rusty and red
I chewed the inside of my cheek when he said
*I'm just not interested.