BPR 52 | 2025
woman sitting in the same
room all in pink silk pajamas drinking tea
and while kneading the bottoms
of their feet with their thumbs look for all
the places they have gone—trying to be remembered
by not existing only when there are women are there
bitten tongues except for when there
are women there are
chests concealed arms hairless forehead stained
red when we were brides upper lip
waxed waxed waxed eyebrows threaded to a high
arch all to never kiss or be kissed and i the
generation meant to be spoken cannot exceed any expectations
when i make my way back to my apartment,
out of that room, out of my silk pajamas scraping
my prickly legs my lips dry and the tongue inside
never firm enough to do anything except for
eat a muffin or two maybe with a fork or without
it does not matter i suppose when it is them
who have set it up this way to be always
inside folded small pressed caked inside we
cannot breathe here i know you know what would
be the way out so please tell me before i die
if there is any good way to eat a muffin
either alone or in public without
causing such a commotion as this one