Every year a bright calendar
scrubbed pink farm faces
suburban sweethearts
pretty city
girls
as young
as fifteen
long curls and tiny freckles
short skirts, lacy panties
modest bikinis in floral print
shining eyes and wide smiles
like daisies aimed at the sun.
Every year he's a sponsor
glad-handing their families
fat fathers in Hawaiian shirts
worried moms in sensible shoes
while he sends his recruiter
to the green rooms
to lure the girls
as young
as fifteen
to come meet a rich man
to make their dreams come true.
Originally from Boston, Mickey J. Corrigan writes tropical noir with a dark humor. Her poetry has been widely published in literary journals and chapbooks. In 2020, Grandma Moses Press released Florida Man. Her novel The Physics of Grief puts the fun back in funerals while taking a serious look at the process of mourning (QuoScript, UK, 2021).