Lovely Penguin

by marie gordon

This is a story about
selling People for money
About women, maybe me
I suspect though not just me

I put Me in this coffin
not because you wanted that
that would be too sadistic
I did it because it worked

Or it did work at the time
Coffins are snuggly and warm
I enjoyed warmness inside
The darkness felt comforting

I let them bury me down
I let the dirt fall on top
Didn’t say a word to them
Didn’t worry about price

They plasticated me white
I signed up for the program
I put my self on the stand
For the auction to embalm

Lucky for me souls don’t sell
Not as well as beauty does
Or even intelligence
Not as much as toes and legs

This body was once leased out
I’ll have you know I’m worth eyes
Ears and mouth and lips combined
I’m worth sadness and misery

When the bet doesn’t pay off
There is this circle I love
To play jump-rope with and trip
Over and over I draw

Lines won’t do me any good
Once I’ve accepted that
The commodity of me
I must banish it for life

Until convenient moments
When I snag the sticky line
Just enough to feel worthless
To know that I still have worth

It was never worth my time
To plunge headfirst into trade
If I’m stuck here like a sloth
For me that life is okay

Technorati Tags: commodity, poem, poetry, marie, gordon, women, feminism, traffic in women, writing

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