Beware of the Girl, by Claudia Serea
Posted on November 26, 2019
Beware of the quiet girl,
the good girl,
the one who likes books,
who obeys.
Silent as a mouse,
one day she’ll pack a suitcase
and run away from home,
telling her parents she’s at
a chemistry conference.
She gets off the train
in an unfamiliar city
in the arms of the boy she loves.
Beware of the girl who doesn’t say much,
who can’t find a hotel room
because she’s underage,
and rents a room from the receptionist,
an older woman
who shares her apartment with her girlfriend
and they cook together naked,
and the girl walks in on them,
looking for a glass of water
in the dark kitchen.
Beware of the girl who’s quiet,
who’s never done anything like that,
the girl who has abortions
without telling her mom.
She doesn’t smoke,
but drinks wine
and wants to hurt
for love.
She looks for danger
to spite her father
and straps a knife to her calf
when she goes out at night.
And, one day, she’ll emigrate
just to prove him wrong.
*Miletus*
International Literature Magazine
Summer 2019