Even her boots
she packs with food:
hard candies and crab cakes,
shelf stable stuffed among spoiling
and no matter,
eating was never her goal.
She won’t starve
but she wants you to.
She brings you to beg
at her marvelous rotting heaps,
your idiot voice looping
you won’t starve you know.
You say it like she’ll listen.
She hoards like she’s hungry.
————
Jessica L. Walsh teaches English at a community college outside of Chicago. Her first book, How to Break My Neck, was released in January 2016 by ELJ.
THE FEM 