Shame

By Eliza Rosenthale

2020 Winter Showcase Poetry Award Winner

 

After all those reminders to eat like a lady

A wet slurp from her own mouth

Of her favorite meal, spaghetti,

Is enough to ruin her appetite

 

When he kisses her neck, she asks him to stop

Not because she doesn’t like it

But the sound of her own heavy breathing

Turns her off

 

When she listens to Taylor Swift on long drives

She keeps her windows sealed shut

God forbid anyone hear she listens to love songs

 

In middle school she would unwrap a pink paisley pad

With delicate, slow fingers because God forbid

The crinkle reveal the blush her body brings

She would blush right through the stall door

 

Just another girl afraid of her own insides

Turning herself inside out

For the convenience of everyone else

 

 

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Bio:

Eliza Rosenthale is a student in the Rutgers class of 2023, studying Comparative Literature and Creative Writing. She is from Pennington, NJ, and she loves to read, write, paint, and spend time in New Jersey native wildlife. Both her poems, “Shame” and “Green,” were included in the poetry category of the Winter Creativity Showcase.