No difference between me and the blade-faced, ash-eyed working girls, except the side of the striped canvas from which we try to snare attention, solicit ooohs, aaahs.
Between shows, I slouch out of the crowd, watch the flock of grackles in tattered taffeta scratch and squawk behind the tents. They smear lips red, sip from small, stoppered bottles. Spit at their sisters, then pinch roses into one another’s cheeks.
They whistle to me and I raise one hand to my waist, half-open the palm in a wave.
Plump one means me to hear when she says: I’d like to take his measurements, and I don’t mean the inseam. Elbows her friend. Just north.
Plenty of room inside those trousers for all of us, honey, says another.
I turn my face, as if away from a campfire. Let wind cool my flushed cheeks, my smile.
2 comments:
The second stanza Really got me - perfectly beautiful or beautifully perfect!
The fourth stanza begins with a slightly different voice, and I was thrown off with 'Plump one'. I think even 'The' before it would have me in a better place...
I agree, that second stanza is great. "blade-faced, ash-eyed' in the first stanza is surprising and vivid. The "ooohs, aaahs" felt a bit flat to me, but I'm not sure what to suggest-- some descriptive word instead possibly?
Small thing: in the final stanza I'd re-word slightly to read "I turn m face away, as if from a campfire."
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