Ditch those boots by the backdoor but never
Forget your barnyard brain—see sex as dumb

Animal want. Abandon all gingham;
Lift that fine ass out of your Levis. Slip

On a slip so sheer you’d buff it with
Windex; let one of your bra straps slither

Past a rounded shoulder. And remember
Tabu; daub it behind your knees and your

Earlobes, beneath the heavy globe of each
Breast. Rouge your mouth; say nothing, hint

At everything. Draw a fine line slant
Over each sleepy lid; file half an inch

From one satin pump. Remember you may
Wiggle, might wobble, should limp like wounded prey.

—Based on a photograph of teenaged Marilyn Monroe

Bio: Pamela Johnson Parker