Sally Susan Smith Learns New Words
Sally Susan Smith learned a new word today
Puberty
She sprouts long legs
And starts shaping into curves
That slope like desert dunes in summer
Sand grains slip, glisten, and shake
Like her hands
As she swiftly steps down sidewalks
While men stare and startle her
With pick-ups, sayings, and phrases
That she never had the misfortune to hear
Sally Susan Smith
Cries softly and silently
Because she now understands
That lives are lived swiftly shifting
Down sidewalks and hallways
To try and escape the daily harassments
That stand like statues in their paths
Sally Susan Smith learned another word today
Misogyny