Prayer
Like God, Girlhood is a kind of middle distance—
the fit and flare moment a girl decides
the noir of crying in public isn’t worth ruining
her makeup. If you’ve checked his DMs,
his computer history, the backs of his pupils
for buxom brunettes writhing naked on
a screen, you’ve stood on this pier, ignited
by indignation. Soon Cindy will step out
of the scene and back behind the camera.
She’ll paint on the print even more eyeliner—
the ceaseless need to cheat on truth with truth.
after Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Still #25
BIO
Lexi Pelle was the winner of the 2022 Jack McCarthy Book prize. Her work has appeared or is
forthcoming in Rattle, Ninth Letter, One Art, Sucarnochee Review, and Zenaida. Her debut
book, Let Go With The Lights On, will be released in May.
Recent Posts
See AllWe met I giggled You were serious I felt your heart even then Our souls said hello again Here we go A lifetime would pass 33 years to be exact And still And still As you lay there in your last hours I
Me: Dear Stress, thank you for being such a big part of my life for most of my life. You have helped me to know in my body what feels right and wrong, what feels safe or scary, what I want to do or no
But who wouldn’t want to look that good in mismatched bra and panties? She’s not looking in the mirror she holds. Lying on loose sheets, little rhetorical mouth a little open. She’s waiting for her hu