on the otherside of strapless dress

the forest is tall & blue. all colors invert
if not given enough attention.
i ask the wild flowers permission 
to stuff my pockets with their petals:
purple & white & lavender. an ice cream truck
hovers where there should be a god.
what i'm waiting for is the moment
when my life starts to feel like a novel.
so far there is just a string of dresses
all of them thrift store & all of them remnant.
my alarm clock sound is polyester & orange.
if i didn't have to get up 
& find a pair of socks i would probably
try to find another dream. i don't have
cherry ripe dreams 
i have cameras flashes. i met 
an old teacher & he washed my hair.
i was a giant. all the trees the size 
of toothpicks. i didn't want to break anything.
not a dream now just a story
i had this deep pink & wine strapless dress.
the back was open. anyone could
press an open hand to my skin. boys used to.
their warm open hand. they'd say 
my back was so cold. i'd say 
i have a orange dreamsicle 
where my heart should be. no, i didn't say that.
i'd laugh because girls are taught
to laugh at discomfort. i'm not a girl now
but i do still let people handle me
like a pinecone. i see the other side 
of the forest where all the trees hang down
like ragged teeth. the gravel of the trails
fall as hail. all the animals
cling to their burrows & their nests.
i tell them to just hold on one second
& then i set the world straight again.
an ice cream truck song hymn 
comes bleeding. i want to eat something brief & melting.
the strapless dress asks to be entered.
a revoling door. i miss my girl feet sometimes
but that is all. i should paint myself
more often. i should have red talons
or at least black lips. i want to be
a bad influence but this is all i have.
a handful of smashed flowers & a story
about tilted trees. come visit me.
i'm crouched just below the horizon.
i'm hiding from day's end & tomorrow's start.
here i am safe & you could be too.
bring a favorite pant leg or moon.
i'll hold on tight to my stems.