Frigid by Heather Van Doren
My cool
moment came
at Biff and Linda’s apartment party
in the Valley
when they named me
sexiest girl,
presented me with a chilled bottle
of champagne.
I posed frozen, clutching the neck
and blushing
in my off-the-shoulder
gypsy blouse,
a virgin
carrying a fake I.D.
Their sexy girl – dreading already
the ride home
with my new
marine boyfriend Mike,
who stumbled
from the crowded kitchenette,
squeezed my prize
with knowing fingers, trigger-happy
from weapons training, focused now
on this cork to pop.
Heather Van Doren has resided on both U.S. coasts and now writes from the Midwest. Her work has been published in The New York Times, the books Hipster Haiku and Tribute to Orpheus, and the literary zines Word Riot, Yankee Pot Roast, Spillway Review, Long Story Short, Pemmican, Poetry Scotland, Wicked Alice, New Verse News, Lunarosity and The Orange Room Review.
