Today I’ll dig myself
a Barbie Dreampool
to celebrate my pink
-coming. I know that
for a girl the pool will
gleam electric, the sun
will burn a tangerine
beach ball in the sky.
It’s summer now: my
wants are hot. I’d puff
my lungs with cotton
candy just to float on
top. Now a girl, I’ll
need a boy to fan me
by the pool. I want him
new—still in the box
so when I cut the tie
he’ll pop out glistening.
I’ll build a line of every
flavor boy: butterscotch
and bubblegum, superman
and peach—Real Boys
I’ll call them, and they
will be, mostly—collectable
and kissable with real
plastic hair. I want a
chocolate strawberry
milkshake and a Real
Boy’s stare. I want to
be called a doll and
treated something
sweet. I’m scrubbing
down my sugar skin
to plastic myself in the heat.
New Girl Seeking New Boy
Fez Avery is an MFA candidate in Poetry at Virginia Tech, where they also teach. They are a recipient of two Hopwood Awards and a University of Michigan alum. During summers, they teach poetry, spoken word, and creative nonfiction at Interlochen Arts Camp. They recently completed the chapbook The Rules of Witch Stick with co-author Karyna McGlynn, and are at work on their first full-length book, Virgin Plastic.