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street walker
by Rachelle Howeshe dwelt in lingerie and lace,
liquored by lavish intent.
her back pressed to unnamed mattresses,
beneath equally foreign men:
blank facades waving dirty dollar bills and
flavored condoms as payment
for a luxurious one night stand.
they were faceless when she closed her eyes,
faceless while they ravaged
her mind and uterus.
dug into by each erect canvass,
painted in sperm and morphine.
popping one before bed, and one as she rose
on spindled legs that bent
and beckoned.
she was the night sky's prey,
its coal shadow her singular refuge
from the rogues she'd encounter at 6th and Polke
beneath the breath of streetlights.
returning at five in the morning,
ruffled and worn, yet not saved from
her owner who waved his lamp stick demands.
turgid lips drilling the shaft
that kept her children fed. 10/05/2004 Author's Note: okay, uh, whoa? :) um, this originally was going to be a piece that paul asbury had urged me to write, but it transformed into something else entirely. i don't quite know what i think. *editeditedit*
Posted on 10/05/2004
Copyright © 2024 Rachelle Howe
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Tom Goss on 10/05/04 at 04:02 PM Powerful and gritty - I love it. Has some great descriptions too. |
| Posted by Mara Meade on 10/05/04 at 04:33 PM *winces* yes, powerful and gritty. But the under-pinnings are tragic indeed... Very descriptive and, to me, haunting. |
| Posted by Tim D Livingston on 10/05/04 at 05:16 PM A harsh read. You've taken it to the edge and it's excellent. I'd like to know more about her.... |
| Posted by Kristine Briese on 10/08/04 at 12:55 AM Dark and somehow moist -- I was caught by the patterns of "l" sounds in the first and second stanzas. My only suggestion would be to change "dwelled" to "dwelt". Excellent piece of work, love. |
| Posted by Rula Shin on 10/08/04 at 06:09 PM Geez...very dark and intense, powerful scenes you lay out here for us to wince upon...a very well written piece on the hardships of some lives. Makes me think of just how DEEP this pit of despair really is, and how difficult it must be to pry ones self up and out...what a tragedy. Excellent piece, tough to read but very powerful, ESPECIALLY those last two lines *shudders* |
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