‘those’ kind of girls

by Emalisa Rose


Janie was wayward..
butter blonde hair playing
tease with the wind...long
slender cigarette fondling
her lips

Debbie says she was one
of those that bud early…
girls becoming women
under the boardwalk back
at the Rock

she used those hard sticks that
you shove inside at that time
of the month...it proddles and
pokes with a string peeking out

i tried it three times and felt
if i pulled on it hard, my life
would bleed out

Deb said her aunt told her only
the bad girls would use them

today at the Port of NY...by the
stalls of the ladies room..scribbles
on walls wretching with “fuck you”
talk, like “call April for a banging
good time,” those machines were
there, selling them

some chick put her buck twenty-five
into the slot, grabbing one of those
things, making me cringe knowing
she’d be shoving it into herself.


* * * * *

Emalisa Rose grew up in a beach town. She lived in a city housing project with many friends of diverse backgrounds who were poets, artists, musicians. This provided much of the inspiration for her art. She is a macrame artist, dollmaker and animal rescue volunteer. She works as a lunch lady in a NY public school. Her work has appeared in October Hill, Beatnick Cowboy, Amethyst Poetry Journal.