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The Strawberry Scene, or 1 in 20

by B. N. Wattenbarger

the strawberry scene in

tess of the d'urbervilles

always struck me as slightly

disingenuous.

 

how could hardy understand

the feeling of being eve's daughter?

always cursed by men's wandering eyes

and wandering hands

 

i was not fed the strawberry

while i was fed to the wolves

the only red that remained

was on the sheets and under his nails

 

i can't read about hedgerows without

remembering the hotel room

where he called me ripe for the picking

leaking like an overripe peach

 

thomas hardy may have had symbolism

but i have only had to endure

Black Eye Had Me Seeing Stars

by B. N. Wattenbarger

image: canva.com

B. N. Wattenbarger is a queer author and poet living in the Southern United States. Her poetry has been featured by Nightingale & Sparrow and Ayaskala. When she's not writing, she can be found drinking coffee. Find her on Twitter and Instagram as @BNWattenbarger.

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the cycle of abuse is not unbreakable

but boys learn at their fathers knees

and i learned sit down, shut up, look pretty

don't wear that skirt above your knee

don't wear that shirt below your collarbones

don't breathe a word that might make him

see you

 

it's easier to talk about it if

i pretend i let it happen, pretend to be flattered

someone wanted me at all

but he never loved me the way he loved power

and that night my black eye had me seeing stars

 

the constellations were mapped out in

bruises on my throat, not the first time

not the last time. i live in a city of statistics

and that day i became another

that's what happens when they see you

 

my professor said i should stop writing

about men with claws and fangs, we weren't

working on horror, just compelling narratives

but my black eye had me seeing clearly

and all i could see were your teeth

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