“Sexy Barbie Rapunzel” by Deb Jannerson
you yell
blissfully unbound from the
what-do-they-think of
female education.
your dime-dozen hoots
poke me into the ground like
a nail with
phantom pounds from conviction of the
skeleton key in your pants.
another tiny weight between my shoulder
blades, a further contortion in
my wavy spine
a brother scar of night terrors and
feeble days without sun.
you cast me as plaster
casted as plastic
blank word-bubble princess for
your pleasure, your status
your story.
defenders will point to an
ignorant innocence
the luck of the gender
a sickness of social grace
a mistake.
yet here we are
explaining with a million lips
bleeding rage
exhaling truth
and you have no excuse.
First published in RABBIT RABBIT (Finishing Line Press, 2016).
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Deb Jannerson Artist Statement:
Deb Jannerson is a New Orleans-based poet and author of bildungsroman fiction, queer romance,
and children’s horror and sci-fi. Her book of poetry, Rabbit Rabbit, was published by Finishing
Line Press in 2016. Her new adult novella, Further, was shortlisted for the 2015 William
Faulkner – Wisdom Award. She has stories in the collections My Gay New Orleans, Best
Lesbian Erotica 2015, and the forthcoming Best Lesbian Erotica of the Year, Volume I. Her
fiction, poetry, and social commentary have appeared in over a dozen magazines, including
Bitch, E·ratio, and Women’s Review of Books. Learn more at deborahjannerson.com and
facebook.com/DebJannersonWrites.
