HOW TO WALK LIKE A WOMAN IN THE CITY

let your face say how 
you carried a pocket knife as a girl / slipped and cut your leg
you do not flinch
walk too fast to be appetizing 
make your lover run after you 
he is a man after all 
& these are the things you are trying to avoid
one or ten matches slipped into 
the side of your red socks 
enough friction in your smile
to burn his trespass
not a body 
just a snarling mouth 
with things no one 
wants to know about you

By Chestina Craig

Biography:

Chestina Craig, an intersectional feminist, poet, and scientist in training, lives in Long Beach, CA with her cat. Currently a student at CSULB studying Marine Biology, she spends her free time in the ocean, taking photos, and petting sharks. Her other talents include eating whole pizzas and falling in love with 7pm tangerine sunlight. She hopes to one day only be required to wear gauzy long dresses and dance in the sea.