Sluts Like Flowers
I don’t know his last name.
But he doesn’t know mine either.
People will ask me where I see myself
in five years and it’s not remembering
this guy’s name, first or last, but I will
say he was good with his hands.
Matt, Mike, or Mark gets clapped on the back
and I get weird looks from people on the elevator.
If we looked in my closet, in the very back,
behind the winter coats and clothes
I can’t part with, we’ll find my younger self.
With her knees to her chest and she might be
crying and she might be dry as a bone. Nobody
will ever want to love me, she’s saying. Nobody
will ever want to kiss me, she’s saying. Nobody
will ever want to run their hands past my
plus-size business casual blouses from the women’s section
of JCPenney to find what lies beyond all the fabric.
There’s still part of her in that closet but the other
part is in that closet finding the easiest dress to take off.
I pride myself on separating love from sex like
egg white from yolk, the slime running down my arm.
To me, it’s easy to squeeze the right parts, get the moan
right, and have them huffing and puffing in my ear.
Have them fall off the edge, catching them at the bottom.
Tell me I’m great tell me I’m beautiful don’t tell me
that you love me and I won’t do the same. But
I wouldn’t mind flowers; sluts still like flowers.
Beeper Peddle is a writer and healer living on the East Coast. She lives with her partner and their beloved soul puppy. Beeper writes about sorrows, lies, and deep loves. When you read her work, you will dip down into her heart and end up in all manner of body parts. Should you find yourself reflected in these words, it is merely coincidence; however, it does not surprise her you share the same heart. Find her at bethpeddle.com and @beeperpeddle on Twitter and Instagram
Emily Sperber (she/her) currently works for an independent bookstore as a bookseller. When she’s not working, you can find her reading books she bought with her employee discount, drinking beer, or painting her nails, and maybe all at the same time. She lives in Seattle.
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