Celebrating National Poetry Month
WOMAN IN A RED DRESS
“These people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy.” – Morpheus
You know you want to turn around
Surrender to your humanness
Stare at these white-hot shoulders
How the smell burns the nostrils
A perfume sweet honey shape
If such a thing is possible
Pouty red lips and dark eyes
Real as the barrel of my gun
Cocked in your direction
Aimed at your cerebral cortex
Your head floating in a wet dream
Antiquated program
You don’t want to stop; however,
Termination is inevitable.
Love and Light for Your Tuesday!
Amanda Johnston earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Stonecoast through the University of Southern Maine. She is the recipient of multiple Artist Enrichment grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Christina Sergeyevna Award from the Austin International Poetry Festival. She is a member of the Affrilachian Poets, a Cave Canem graduate fellow, and has served on the board of directors for the National Women’s Alliance and the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. She is the founder & executive director of Torch Literary Arts, the retreat coordinator for Cave Canem Foundation, Inc., and a Badgerdog teaching artist. She lives in Texas with her husband and two daughters.
Photo by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
