The Silent Female Killer
Photoshopped into existence,
she lives in magazines,
screens, billboards,
and is tattooed
into the psyches of all woman.
Sky blue soulless eyes.
5’8, but looks taller
because she’s always wearing
uncomfortable six-inch pointy heels.
Long, straight hair
that always looks perfect since
she never has a “bad” hair day in her non-existent life.
White, supple flawless skin.
Pouty, luscious lips that say “fuck me now.”
Size two,
but can sometimes be a zero
since she subsists on air and vegetables.
Long, pencil thin legs.
Double D breasts
with deep cleavage.
Tiny waist.
Wire thin arms
and manicured fingers
that are usually clinging
to a macho looking man.
Idolized by billions,
She has driven a dagger
into the souls of countless
starving women.
Women of the world—
Let’s strangle her tiny neck,
punch her with our muscular arms,
sit on her with our curvy, fat asses,
to show her creators
what real, gritty female beauty looks like.
The Marlboro Man
You blew so much smoke
you could have started global warming.
Mounted like a work of art
on your high horse,
cowboy hat tipped at just the right angle
to hide your right eye,
revealing an air of mystery.
But all that lighting up
in Marlborough Country
has raised the walls of your coffin.
Written in dense,
ominous clouds in your lungs
is the warning:
“Don’t come to where the flavor is.”
Miriam Manglani lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband and three children. She graduated with a degree in English from Brandeis University and works full-time as a Technical Training Manager.
She is the author of the poetry book Invisible Lines published by Kelsay Books and the poetry chapbook Ordinary Wonders published by Prolific Press. Her poems have been published in various magazines and journals including Sparks of Calliope, One Art, Glacial Hills Review, and Paterson Literary Review. Read her published work on her website: https://www.miriammanglani.com
The Marbled Sigh 