On Being A Woman

by Victoria Olsen

Orange fingernails long,
A Queen of the Nile.
Eyelids lined boldly
A practiced shy smile.

She tucks in her tummy
And outlines her lips.
She glares in the mirror
At the shape of her hips

As she asks herself, Why?

Her breasts are not fuller
Her blonde hair isn’t shiny
She can’t erase freckles
And her voice becomes whiny?

“I NEED a bright colored Band-Aid
To cover these scratches…
And I’ll look in my drawers
For a hair clip that matches.”

She takes out her comb
And makes her hair poufy
And colors her cheeks
Then decides she looks goofy

She dampens a washcloth
And scrubs her face bare.
Plastic nails peel off quickly,
She unteases her hair.

Waving good-bye to her lover,
“Future husband!” she’ll say.
He’s on a rock ‘n roll poster
“But I’ll meet him one day!”

Its time for her school bus
Ten minutes past seven
The woman is blossoming
But she’s still only eleven.