From The Feminist Wire: http://thefeministwire.com/2015/02/poetry-honorable-mention-finalists-shevaun-brannigan-coco-owen-kimberly-reyes/#.VPKgZWwBTrA.twitter
Whor led
Who se are you, girl? Who se whor led
i mage, who se ho pe, who se pre text,
who se m aid, who se p lay thing?
Who put t he w ho rls in y our inn ards
and cochlea? Who se aph rod isiac oyster,
fig, pome granate, or o range are you?
Dear m aid en— H ow long t ill you’re h is
It girl? Is it a whirl win d ro man ce,
m ail-order or ar ran ged? Girl, you are a naught y,
man y- chamber ed nautil us, and who‘re we
kid ding? You can gr ow up to be any thing;
but all ways a virg in al thing he’s d reaming.
Quiver
T his
la mentation’s
sor row full dirge
is th inking reth inking
it self. La mentation h as but
j us t de art hs f or nourish men t,
f or a racist nation is lamest
when lite racy de faults into
Weapons-grade in come inequality.
First came t he arms r ace, then
there we re t he war s urges,
t he orange t error alerts &
the scandalo us state-security
obf us cation. That’s w he n
I put my form erly in-
war d la men ts out
of t heir misery,
anti militarily.
The Feminine Anemone, definition of—
—A marine organism which attaches to rocks. A Wallflower with petal- or tentacle-like appendages laden with poison: Ornament as armament.
—In the juvenile phase, often encounters violence and predation, c.f., the ‘She Asked For It,’ Jailbait or Cocktease anemones.
—The young anemone is called a Living-doll, or Nymph—short for Nymphomaniac—when it is feeding.
— Demonstrates a stick-to-it-iveness usually called Clingy.
—When damaged by passing boats, storms or divers, is said to suffer from Feminine Masochism, i.e., it is a Victim.
—Employs stinging nematocysts as self-protection when disturbed. This feminine anemone behavior is called Hysterical or Bitchy. (See also, Vagina dentata.)
—Can self-beget: its hundred Kali arms can regenerate if cut off.
—Of, or related to, Home-wreckers, Old Maids, Southern Belles, Sluts, Starlets and Goody-two-shoes. Also, Home-maker, Home-schooler, Angel in-the-house.
—May be found in the tide-bed she’s Stay-at-home to.
—May also be found in deep water. Is then referred to as Self-effacing, Depressed, or Passive-Aggressive.
—This coelenterate, though all-orifice, can be Frigid.
—Beguiling but deceitful, the feminine anemone has been called a “sea/Sweetheart, that Kleptomaniac.” (See “Lesbos” by Sylvia Plath. Italics added.)
—Also, often Beard for a clownfish. (See also, Fag Hag.)
—The Eve anemone attracts poisonous sea snakes and is responsible for much destruction of reef ecosystems.
—Persistent Co-dependent devotion to a given rock or clod shows a Submissiveness typical of the Persephone anemone (a style of Girl still in Vogue).
—As a juvenile, the Madonna anemone is ‘Like a virgin’ and revered.
—After sexual maturity, the Madonna anemone is referred to as Loose Woman, or simply, Whore.
—When it remains attached to one rocky bed, the feminine anemone is known as the Honest Woman, Fixèd Foot, or Ball-and-Chain.
—When the feminine anemone moves (however slowly) between attachment sites, it is called a Promiscuous Bitch.
—The feminine anemone’s flower-like appearance disguises the fact that it is a predator. Therefore, anemones are sometimes referred to as Black Widows, Ball-busters or Man-killers in the literature.
—When the anemone gesticulates with its tentacles, it is called Women’s Libber. However, the gesture may also signify a distressed organism (Cf., the Stevie Smith “not waving but drowning” anemone.)
—A high incidence of eating disorders may reflect the feast-or-famine conditions in which anemones exist. Anemones without adequate nutrition are anorexic or Karen Carpenters (slang).
—Where feminine anemones congregate, the habitat is called a Nunnery, the type of place the suicidal Ophelia anemone got off to.
—At the end of the life-cycle, the anemone is called Old Hag, Cow, or Shrew, i.e., she is no longer a Nice Piece of Ass and is of no further interest.