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by Robert L. Penick
©2020 People Are Strange Photgraphy
Get a Tattoo, Charlene
One with the names of
all your ex-lovers
in one great column
starting at your brow
and running down your belly,
across your moneymaker
and ending, upside-down,
on the back of your neck.
You could be a scroll
of lust, deception,
and regrettable decisions.
Have the artist work small
and don’t leave anyone out.
You could be your own
historical marker,
Wikipedia entry
or Confederate statue,
commemorating your
dedication to the carnal
and the cruel.
Go on, tell the world.
Talent like yours
should not go
unnoticed.
(I swear I’m not bitter.)
Get a Tattoo, Charlene
One with the names of
all your ex-lovers
in one great column
starting at your brow
and running down your belly,
across your moneymaker
and ending, upside-down,
on the back of your neck.
You could be a scroll
of lust, deception,
and regrettable decisions.
Have the artist work small
and don’t leave anyone out.
You could be your own
historical marker,
Wikipedia entry
or Confederate statue,
commemorating your
dedication to the carnal
and the cruel.
Go on, tell the world.
Talent like yours
should not go
unnoticed.
(I swear I’m not bitter.)
Robert L. Penick has appeared in over 100 different literary journals, including The Hudson Review, North American Review, and The California Quarterly. He lives in Louisville, KY and previously edited Ristau: A Journal of Being. In 2018, he won the Slipstream Press chapbook competition. More of his writing can be found at www.theartofmercy.net
© 2020 West Trade Review
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