On the Wild Side

the bad girls walk their scissor legs
through blowing scraps of colored
paper, here’s a snip of an ad for trash
bags, here’s the torn up start to a letter.
Their elastic hands reel and unreel
packing tape and seal up my pencil thin
fingers. I can’t type. I can’t bring
my hand to my lips to whistle Hey
Babe, take a walk but they swish past
on high heeled plastic Barbie shoes
their sharp feet sharp eyes grinning sharp
painted white teeth.

Pediatrician Kelley White has worked in inner city Philadelphia and rural New Hampshire. Her poems have appeared in Exquisite Corpse, Rattle and JAMA. Her most recent collection is NO. HOPE STREET (Kelsay Books). She received a 2008 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant.