Molly Horan – Poem “Odds and Evens”
Bristol Eastern High School
Odds and
Evens
I am a Norman Rockwell painting
Young girl prepares for beau
Staring unblinkingly
Crimson Lips
Ruby Cheeks
Swelling suds
Slight wince as the cleansing foam
Creeps into the cherry cracks
Of red raw hands
Scrub one two three
Switch one two three
Three pumps of soap
Split second sandwiched between two palms
So I won’t have to see
The glistening glycerin globs
Resting imperfectly
Downstairs awaits a boy
Unknowing of the 1650 times
My knuckles have tapped each cold smooth cinderblock
Of our school’s front hall
Hasn’t heard the snickers
That have melted into the numbers
My spoken three cackles
He doesn’t even stare
As I separate and group my fries
Into tiny golden trinities
The salt stings the tiny wounds
That compliment my lips
A hand is slipped over mine
The left hand
Only the left
So I had to leave
To return to school to tap and hear alone
With only my two hands for company
Evenly Empty
