All the girls are dancing
like puppets. The girls are pretending
to jump over fires. The girls are resting
their elbows on each others’ shoulders
and telling men with smooth heads
they need their second chakra opened.
The girls are breastfeeding cats
on airplanes. The girls are enjoying
it. The girls are telling old men to guess
which bully they are in the new hit TV show. Every answer is wrong. The girls
are naming themselves after whales.
The girls are making their eyebrows
disappear. The girls are feeling
sick and unclean. The girls are marching
to the private section of the club
while hoop earrings split their ears
into snake tongues. The girls are hanging
nothing but fancy restaurant menus
on the walls. The girls are claiming they need a cigarette. The girls have never smoked
a day in their lives. The girls say But in my dreams I’m always chasing a cigarette. The girls will not listen when informed that the cigarette is standing in for some other desire. The girls say But all I desire is right here and thumb the air, feel it whistle.
By Maia Siegal