Two Poems – Jessica Abughattas

 

Jess

Dogs are boys and cats are girls.
No one was looking. I dipped my baby carrots in sugar.
I swam in my pool wearing only underwear.
Girls are not supposed to be shirtless.
I told the girls at pre-school about my older sister and brother.
I don’t have a sister.
At recess time, the swings are my favorite.
My biggest fear is falling.
I found out a way to touch that feels good.
This makes grown ups angry.
Women are really pretty
in my mom’s magazine.
I only dream in the color red.
Circles are girls and squares are boys.
I don’t like to share my crayons because
I love to touch the pointy tips.
The kids color so hard my crayolas return as stubs
Riley said I am too bossy and called me a hippocrip.
I cried and cried.
I had a crush on Riley.
At recess, I like to make rolly polly families.
All of them are only childs too.
I hate to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce —
My knees touch Riley’s.
I like Carl’s Jr. kid’s meals the best.
They ran out of the girl toy and gave me the boys’
I ask for boys’ toys from now on.
There are circles on Barbie’s chest.
I drew them and it made the grown ups mad.
The grown ups were sad and asked me
if anyone touched me someplace.
I told them about Riley’s knees.

 
 
 

Watching My Mother
after reading “Fury” by Lucille Clifton

She stands beside
the Ford Thunderbird
The suitcase overflows
like a Thanksgiving turkey
Her hair is crying
Her hands collect her clothes
from the driveway
The yellow jumper collapses
into a million threads of saffron
She keeps dropping them
They wither and dissolve
Petal by petal
into pavement
Her hands are rivers
Her black eyes, mascara bats
flittering at the sight of me
I am 5 years old and perfect