Karen

by Jenni Balsam - Not entered

Chocolate flavored hair.
Hangs loosely
like a rosary around her neck.
Feathered, lips soft
well versed

She is a blue dress hanging in the window.

Unexposed breasts popped out quietly.
Little white sugar cakes
hugging the blue satin.
Roses on her wrists,
hothouse flowers
Only the best for Karen
bright and untouched only.
Only the best
            
                 Only

child. Mother and child.
Lazy and willing,
she tiptoes around her own shadow
wanting, waiting
wanting, waiting
And this would be 

the night. Fresh navel fuzz flushed
Red.
Waving parades, anorexic ballerinas
Her eyes
seeing past their own tears,
Red.

Seventeen years ten months
fourteen days, legs opened
cried beautifully.
Came out of her mother's insides
                     at exactly

3 AM the phone rings.

Matted satin blood drenched
whiskey bottles ripping tissue tearing
skin shrieking shaking limbs glass
cans sliced skin speeding
red red light red stains "oh no oh no
oh shit oh no oh no no no...

I have arrived."


Reason for writing:

    There was a girl who went to my high school about ten years before I did. She was a cheerleader, straight A student, all- American sweetheart. As the story goes, she got in a terrible drunk driving accident as her and her friends were leaving prom. She was killed. The school officals used to tell us about her in hopes of scaring us out of drinking while driving. All I remember, is focusing on the sadness and loss of a precious future. I purposely wrote this in a way, where it can be interperted that the character is losing her virginity, which is what most people read into it. Either way, it's a loss of innocence. Every time I have read, or had this poem published, it seems to be greatly misunderstood, so I thought I'd submit it somewhere where I could explain it a little...    

Birth sign: Not entered
Date created: 1996-12-19 15:31:26
Last updated: 2021-03-03 14:39:11
Poem ID: 46239

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