I'm still waiting to hear from Kore Press. In the meantime I submitted 26 pages of poetry to the 2008 New Women's Voices chapbook competition, and I'm getting five poems ready to submit to a poetry anthology written by women over 60. This one is looking for recent work giving full and honest voice to women's lives. So I'll try out a piece I'm working on here. Is is a full and honest voice? Well, that's for you to decide.
Invisible
They look through me,
the brawny young guys flexing their biceps
as they reach for the shoulder press.
Their eyes fix on the girl in sleek black tights
with boobs bursting out of her bra.
Strong and slim and self confident
she struts past, tilting her head back
to take a swig of water.
They look past me, the sweaty runners
in tank tops, Adidas shorts and hairy calf muscles
that form a perfect Vee
They see the far away figure on roller blades
with flowing blonde hair
showing more tan than thong.
Fit and firm she moves closer, smiles wide
and raises her hand to give them a high five.
Look at me. I’m firm and slim.
Underneath my baggy tee and sweats I feel 28.
Though my hair is almost white
and my face has lines impossible to erase.
Give me a glance, why don’t you,
a glimmer of recognition
that I still exist,
that I’m still worthy to be seen,
and good enough to eat.
Comments? More to come later this week....
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