My Girlish Monster | MARA BENEWAY

My Girlish Monster

Mara Beneway | Vermont

mother of monster girl has a broken leg. broken mother. monster girl’s brother puts his head through a wall. all he wants is a snack. father of monster girl is. make believe. dreamfather. brother asks to see my girlish underwear. I show him. worn cotton. cartoons all over. girlish monsters. we paint our tongues with nail polish. share a bed. molest frogs. torture them until they bloat into small planets. we think them dead. only dream dead. we spread open barbie’s plastic legs. spread open. play dreamhouse. play dream girls. play dreamtime. push barbie up to barbie. me and monster girl make believe. dream makers. girlish monsters. we eat blue eyeshadow. we unblink. we watch a mother hamster eat her pink-skinned babies. baby pink meal. mother monster is a hungry mother. we sleep in broken beds. hide in closets. night mare each other. my monster girl holds open my eyelids. girlish fingers. won’t let me miss a thing. girl monster makes me wade the sewer which tunnels under our street. underneath monster