Beauty is Imperfection

(Originally posted Saturday, June 28, 2008 )

Unpublished Sylvia Plath Lines

The abortionist tailor warps and shuttles
The life out of the side of my dress,
Unflattering to my girly hips
Kiss of sticky makeup, what melts
Against the hot bars of this
Self-cleaning oven
Damn! No grease!

Musk rose, knot of snakes
Thimble full of sticky dawn
Two girls at play;
“Hands up, girl! Vagina heist!”

I hang off the full-moon of each teat
Cow, goat, great pink hocks
We were maids for each udder

A heart blushes through a coat
My heart on my sleeve. No, literally!

All that’s left: the skull and wedding ring.
Damn! And that Clorox, too. Ruins the effect.
Should have thrown
it out.

Knuckles and knees; a woman is only
as good as her bones.
And who she screws, I guess.

Supple, supple thighs, Daddy.

I am the color of horse apples
on a Jewy morning

What the hell is a Nazi lampshade?
Whatever, I’ll go with it.

You didn’t, you didn’t, you didn’t
say let’s go to the party did you?

What raises the sap in a man,
the gooey amber morning
Is not something I am responsible for
yet here I am cleaning it off myself again

The poplar snaps
Things do not break in my eye
It is eye, who is breaking.
Oh shit. It’s all over my stomach. Jesus!