already learning to hate myself.
i wrote on blades
of grass, stamped them down
under rubber boots melted to my skin.
my body, the bouillon cube.
why did i keep looking
into mirrors? essay (verb): to try
to like what you see.
two new boys in my class bought me
gum erasers at the book fair –
i thought i’d turned
to smoke. i retreated into a hoodie
when someone told me to start wearing bras.
unconscious essay topic:
i am still trying
not to be caught in my body.
————
Shelby Dale DeWeese grew up on a farm in the southeast United States but currently lives and writes in California. She is an MFA candidate at the University of San Francisco, a poetry reader for Switchback and Teen Ink, and an educational programs intern for 826 Valencia. Her work has appeared in publications including Quaint Magazine, The Knicknackery, and Marathon Literary Review. Visit her at shelbydaledeweese.com.
Instagram: @shelbydaledeweese
Twitter: @sddeweese
THE FEM 