MARILYN HATES ELASTIC
-lyn lifshin

Sure it shows
off what every-
one is hot for
her to show off,
outlines each
curve of her
breasts and
thighs, neon-
izes her ass
like slicker, giving
her lips that
moist, I-want-you
glow when really
she just wants
to curl up in
a sweatshirt,
watch light on
marble go from
guava to peach
to chardonnay
and china berry.
From the 27th floor
the boxes could
be tombstones,
could be the
box she's in,
even less give
than the elastic
she feels tighten,
a tourniquet.
The rose in her
cheeks men think
is longing is her
capillaries' blood
breaking out from
what held them
as, if she
couldn't be free,
her blood would be.