Poetry: "The Good Girl Montage"

By Esther Lee

The good girl fights a medium-sized meteor, makes a mess, and dies in
                                                                                           battle.


The good girl picks it back up and refries it.


She duct-tapes the swivel of a politician; calls this act mercy.



She crowns herself Queen of Glow-in-the-Dark, Ambassador of Finger-
             Tappers, Pope of Whoopdie-Doo, and Prisoner of Overkill.


Mornings she videotapes herself weeping.


The good girl confuses wasps for trees, confuses standing bodies for bees.


During her nightly routine she counts new dents in her mouth brace.


She believes in her least favorite person and their dog and its biscuit.


Instead of spitting on sidewalks, the good girl mends a mouth full of
                                                                                         darns.


To prevent winter she unscrews the bottoms of snow globes.


The good girl talks a lot of talk. She swears the bleeding is natural.


The good girl watches the snow redden and washes out her knickers.


She pulls and pulls at her safety-pinned body like a rein.