vestigial virgin

[[ Wordplay on Vestal and vestigial, to begin with, and building on that to make this a woman literally in touch with her vestigial characteristics. ]]

The vestigial virgin

in morning retraces

the route she retraces

each morning she rises.

She touches 

the tip of her tongue 

to her four wisdom teeth.

She touches 

her tailbone and where 

her appendix might be.

She feels the hair rise on her skin 

and continues the tour

and comes away pure.

She chases 

a tingle that leaves her 

completely in tears.

She rubs her 

third eyelids and curls and 

wriggles her ears.

She feels the hair rise on her skin 

and continues the tour

and comes away pure.

intentional love song 14: your eyes are like your eyes

[[ no metaphor, no simile, just what it is: your eyes are like your eyes ]]

love is not something it is not

simple love

no metaphor

no simile

what is it for

but to say your eyes

are not your eyes

simple love

no metaphor

no simile

what is it for

but to say your skin

is not your skin

your eyes are like 

your eyes are like

your eyes are like 

your eyes...

your eyes collect the light and turn it into thought

accidental woman

[[ we are accidents and constructs with agency -- and the radio is our body ]]

I'm an accidental woman

a woman can come and go

I'm an accidental woman

I am a song on this radio

this is only skin

just another hotel room

flesh is a fashion

you can wear until your doom

or step on out of

and step into something new

we can get out of this

what we put into this

we can get out of this

what we make of this

what we make of this

is how we will be

I'm an accidental woman

I could as easily be the man

just a switch in my making

make a change to that plan

I am my own distraction

I paint my lips on

and put on a smile

when I look in a mirror

I get my kink in

I am my own distraction

see how these clothes hang

from my soft shoulders

just pull on over

and let it sink in

when I check the mirror

I turn my head

I'm an accidental woman

a woman can come and go

I'm an accidental woman

I am a song on this radio

the time between

what they wanted
was to trap it,

diagram it
get the coordinates
but that's where the trouble starts.

all we wanted
was to cut the tension

break the silence
excavate the evidence

signs that we were still alive

to pass the time between

when we were children 

when we were grown

to pass the time between

when we were smoking teens

when we were smoking teens

we put out cigarettes 

on our skin

we carved our arms

with kitchen scissors

we wanted ugly
wanted ugly

to cut through the angry

to cut through the sad

to punish ourselves

for being so bad

to show you

this is how much 

this skin can hurt

this is how much 

this nothing hurts
this is how much

cut the tension

break the silence

dig up evidence that we were still alive

cut the tension

break the silence

excavate the evidence

we are alive