pretty girls

a free-verse poem about the pretty girls in the ground

pretty girls
running through flower fields
yanking too-tight jeans over their hips
shoelaces collecting dirt as they are trampled

pretty girls
cautiously applying expensive mascara
putting too many chemicals in their hair so it stays
using magic eraser on their converse and vans

pretty girls
cancelling plans with friends and family for him
buying tighter clothes for him
wearing more lipstick for him

pretty girls
scratching at their arms to keep calm for him
starving themselves to the bone for him
keeping their mouth shut for him

pretty girls
mascara running down their cheeks because of him
losing friends because of him
hesitating to raise an apple to their chapped lips because of him

pretty girls
buried in flower fields
too-tight jeans going to the cousin
shoelaces collecting dust

because

of

him