ZoeBee

This book longs to be burned
Not tossed, trampled, swallowed or stained
No
This book yearns to be burned
Tickled with whispers of matcheads
Struck with the bold, brassy notes
Of a torch

Charleston and Foxtrot and shimmynshake
Cigars and Edison bulbs and diamonds and shiny black pianos
I let ruby lips wander by her emerald-adorned ear
The smell of smoke and satin and secrets wafting through the air

Through the barren thicket
To the berry-laden footpath
Where imps tiptrip among feet and hooves
And nomads in nolands (welcomed by nomans) shake elbows cause nohands
Are there

The summer gets yellower 
As reality ripens and swells
Ears of corn shining like buried treasure
Silky hair swaying in the daylight
Flaxen leaves scattering the ground
Trees shedding as we don

I've never used a locker
For my bags 
Only my heart
I haven't been unmasked
In front of friends
Or with my art
I've never shaken hands 
With my teachers
Or myself
I've left all of my schoolbooks

Every time I see another woman
Another angry woman stand up and scream
Another angry woman politely lobby and debate and go through the proper channels
Another angry woman fall back as the proper channels dam off