Too Much or Not Enough
We’re not bleeding yet, then we’re too bloody,
then we’re dried out, thrown away.
We’re too little or too big or
nothing special. We used to be
doll-like but kept growing bigger
and older and closer to disintegration.
Perhaps dolls are better because they can’t speak
for themselves. When we were like dolls,
they could cut off our fingers and toes
more easily. Maybe even cut out
our tongues. Snap a neck, invade
our brains. Diminish our bodies
with ongoing hateful clichés, ridicule,
ridiculous standards. Little girls are cute
when they’re plump, but adult women
are supposed to be skinny/curvy.
What is the age gap in which
precious turns into grotesque?
Large breasts hit the ground,
then gravitate down and disappear
inside the damned coffin.
No more hot flashes.
Juliet Cook doesn’t fit inside an Easy-Bake Oven and rarely cooks. Her poetry has appeared in a peculiar multitude of literary publications. She is the author of numerous poetry chapbooks, most recently including “red flames burning out” (Grey Book Press, 2023), “Contorted Doom Conveyor” (Gutter Snob Books, 2023), “Your Mouth is Moving Backwards” (Ethel Zine & Micro Press, 2023), “REVOLTING” (Cul-de-sac of Blood, 2024), and “Blue Stingers Instead of Wings” (Pure Sleeze Press, 2025). Her most recent full-length poetry book, “Malformed Confetti” was published by Crisis Chronicles Press. You can find out more at https://julietcook.weebly.
