Poem of the Day 10.03.25

mary’s sister

pam is a slut
mary whispered to me
in the backseat of her parent’s car

we were going to cleveland
for her nephew’s first communion

i didn’t know much about pam or sluts

i just knew about mary
and what i knew was getting tiring

pam didn’t look like a slut

she looked like someone pushing thirty
who had two kids too early
and was trying to make up for lost time

pam’s boyfriend chuck
liked to grab her ass
in front of everyone
when pam went to fetch him a beer

i liked chuck
maybe he was the slut

and pam had a fine ass

i kept looking for signs of pam’s sluttiness
the whole time we were there

but other than putting bailey’s irish in her morning coffee
i couldn’t find anything

maybe my slut-radar was off
maybe i never knew what a slut was

the morning of the communion
pam came into the room
mary and i were sleeping in

it instantly smelled of roses and daffodils

pam saw me awake
and mouthed, ssssshhhhh

before opening a closet
to look for the boy’s communion suit

pam was wearing a black see-through kimono
and her panties were thongs

she had a tattoo of a pair of lips
on her right ass cheek

that i still remember thirty years later

when she left the room
pam winked at me

and i laid there on the guest bed
thinking sluts must be as magical as unicorns
wondering if i could rub one out

until mary lifted her head from the pillow
and said to me

see what i mean?