Chemicals and Candy
Asha Fletcher-Irwin


Girl collecting Pall Mall kisses off the pavement,
eating them to fill her gaping stomach.
Rubbing her hands in the broken glass,
looking for a dollar she dropped near Union Square–
not expecting to get it back.
She’s moved to a place with rolling hills and slower smiles,
she likes it okay there.
She buys bleach for 8.99 at Target
and does not count the change handed back to her.
Her hair yellows at the tips like book pages.
Boys with pickup trucks,
foreign stubble poking through their latex skin
follow her and she pretends not to see them.
They do not go away.
Mechanical children are smashing porcelain,
and she is scared of becoming theirs.
Oh, candy doll, 
will anyone look through the rubble for you? 
 
 
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