why i need work

BY Kae Chatman

It’s a permanent problem
Looking like everybody’s long-dead Mother
Chubby cousin, neighbor lady who plays Catholic bingo
Third-grade teacher fired for getting pregnant
First woman in Congress, waitress, bookkeeper
Ordinary lips, brows, thighs
Hips protruding like the bump of a bell curve
Facial features stacked like average scores on college entrance tests
Neck un-swanlike, doughy breasts
Standard-issue fingers, toes, nose
Pushed into disappointed families
Caught in the quick-witted fingers of midwives
With gaps in their teeth
Hair on their arms
Standard height, weight, BMI reproduced across
Centuries, high school reunion pictures
Mother Eve at midlife, post-paradise
Searching the classifieds for a cheap apartment
A position that pays well enough to purchase tweezers
Lipstick, perfume, powder, curlers
Fashion magazines
Compression hosiery
Cross My Heart foundations
Anything for a lift

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Kae Chatman (she/her) is a queer poet, veteran, and former university professor. Kae holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Wichita State University, and an MA and PhD in Philosophy from Kansas University. She has taught at Philander Smith College and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, among others. Kae has poems published or forthcoming in myriad journals.

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Image Credit: “Imaginary Map” by Fabio Sassi

Fabio Sassi makes photos and acrylics using whatever is considered to have no worth by the mainstream. He often puts a quirky twist to his subjects or employs an unusual perspective. Fabio lives in Bologna, Italy.