he says I have a bubble gum tongue & I do / I found it / the muscle behind my voice box / all chewed up & stuck / beneath an eighth grade school desk / peeled it off somewhere between / finishing my test first & / waiting for a boy / to turn his in before me / forgot that I had left it there / forgot that I had forgot it in the first place & / I thought it a fossil I might resurrect / a discovery that deserved my tenderness but / all the boys called it gross / all the boys picked at its lumps & said / how dare you keep such a thing between your teeth / should've left it where you found it in the first place / & suddenly / I hated them / so I smacked my lips / made the biggest bubbles just to prove / I could just / to listen to them pop & / the boys / they recoiled / said / nobody wants to hear that said / who do you think you are / my best friend / he called me brave said / none of the boys will want to kiss you now / none of the boys will want to move in to your mouth / next to that chewy monstrosity / I mean / do you even have room for them in there anyway / it takes up so much space / John says I have a bubble gum tongue & I do / she is only alive because of preservatives / only alive because of self preservation & / even at her stalest she is pink explosion / sweet & violent / all at once / john says / I've got skin like porcelain & sure / yes I do / see / the largest organ in my body is fragility / the largest bravery in / my body is fragility / but john / why don't you ever write about knuckles / have you never dated a person with creases / with dry edges & balled up fists or / do you just play / till guitar string turns branding iron / straighten up & soften her / crisp & pretty / you know / less like a fleshy sweaty thing & more like / the chorus to your next hit song / john / did you know there is blood in wonderland / that the ferris wheel gets stuck on Friday nights / that in the morning only the bravest souls emerge / to sop up the vomit from cotton candy overdoses / john / all the games are rigged here / the basketballs will always have a / little less air than you need / to win the stuffed unicorn / do not look at any machinery too closely / it has been loved so hard but no amount of tenderness / keeps away the rust / john / my body is a wonderland / welcome to the carnival / all sunshine & crying / all ice-cream & steel / do you know what it is to love somebody / when all their lights go out / when nobody is left on the tilt-a-whirl / or / are you just a tourist of other people / a patron of your lover's loop de loop but / hop off the ride right before the death drop / just here for a good time just / here for the thrill & the show you know / my lips are candy / he’s right about that /sweet / & / pretty / & / stomach ache

Glass: A Journal of Poetry is published monthly by Glass Poetry Press.
All contents © the author.