fuzzy dress

her muscles are strong/stringy strong strings//you
know/knitted together like coarse///

redredredred and orange/yellow//
yarn her/legs crochet yards to cover yr arms/yr mouth/
pull the wool/scratchy/far above yr greygrey eyes//

her eyebrows//are fuzzy caterpillars//striped and soft and
arcingbendingdancingwrithing their 20/30/40/50/ many legs//

and she is strong///and you cannot crumble her///like that stale
brown cookie/now drying yr sweet pink mouth//and she is
strong///you/know//remember/she is strong//she will not break//

and her stitches//blanketseed//stickyglistening///and her
stitches hide oozygooey////scars//and her stitches sew her/
up from head to toe/to/yr head////and her stitches in yr side/
and her fuzzy dress/and her back//in yr hot stretchyflesh
mouth/and her//she/tastes like puffy//gone sweet powder/sticky
grainy///plantationyummy/so refined//sugar.

by E. L., Stamford, CT