Kristin Davis
Red not pink
is a hand print on skin
I’ll give you something to cry about!
I learn to be cheerful
and compliant,
a capillary that rives in my eyes
you’re overreacting
I hold my breath
instead of speaking,
a bitten lip that twitches
your ass is hot in those pants
I pick up the pace
dress differently next time,
a flush that rises on my neck
I know you’re in there!
I tense behind a door
to deny consent,
skin that swells around each little wound
does your husband know
you’re driving the good car?!
insult subordinate to a good laugh.
It is the color of negative ink
eighty cents on the dollar
being spoken over
and overlooked,
the color of heart
just what is it you do all day?
quiet care and keep
noticed when absent,
the color of blood
coming out of her wherever
of indignity, of solidarity
of the shirt I wore yesterday.
Kristin Davis marks her first poetry publication with this poem. In her former life as a journalist she has published a book and hundreds of magazine articles in financial and popular media.
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