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We've Been Fucking

Risa Pappas 

“Woman” needs a W these days

Each house on our picturesque suburban streets

could have hate behind the jade trim

Let’s look at the stats

One out of every two households contains

a concussion to my kind

and some concussions are my kind

and some of my players just bench themselves

for fear of that playing field

My paycheck is earned by running for

office, running to the office, running all the coffee

to the office but not seeming happy about

my ankle getting caught in the damn door

How long until I’m not surprised to find my

car on fire, and everyone else’s

I’m already ready

So we’ve been fucking at times only I have

the scheduling of in ways only I sign off on

In spaces measured climate controlled

What’s “casual?”

He calls it making love but we’re not making

anything

With that materials? I’m not dipping into

my savings I’m not subtracting from my inventory

Give me something to work with here

Give me that W

Better yet I’ll take it

ABOUT THE WRITER:

Risa Pappas is a poet, filmmaker, writer, editor, audiobook narrator, and public speaker. She has most recently been published in bluntly magazine and Black Fox Literary Magazine and is a senior editor at Tolsun Books. Risa received her MFA in creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She currently resides near Philadelphia.

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