Fragile

Fragile She seems so fragile. I imgaine you with her, touching her gently, as she lets her slender fingers linger on your skin - those fingers with the long polished nails she must spend hours on each week to maintain so perfectly. Her face, her body and her hair are smooth - so smooth and beautiful. How delicate her features. She’s a china doll with a tiny waist that would fit so easily in a man’s embrace - that type of girl I suppose appears in most men’s fantasies. I see her at my workplace, sitting so demurely, giggling softly when she takes your phone calls. You call her often, and I know why. She demands so much attention from every man I’ve seen her get involved with. I’ve also seen her eyes well up with tears when the boss not too severely reprimands her. Yes, she’s the epitome of fragility. I, on the other hand, am not a tiny helpless china doll. I am average sized, cheerful and robust, and I cry too, just not so easily. My nails are not long, but otherwise, I take care of myself. I’m feminine though not a china doll. Delicate is not a word that would enter someone’s mind to describe me except perhaps in the way I use my voice, for I am tactful. Personable, practical, sincere and steady are other words I hope would spring to someone’s mind if they should describe me. I overhear my lovely workmate’s conversations, for her desk is right near mine. Needy is another word that very much describes her. It seems to be the major attribute of this helpless-acting clinging vine. Often I daydream of you and me together, and in that dream, it’s I whom you caress so softly as I let my fingers linger on your skin. Then passion overtakes us, and I become something wild, not in the least bit fragile. I’m a woman, and my desires are strong. I always say hello the times you come to see your china doll. I also smile at you. Can you read the want inside my eyes? Lately I’ve been noticing the days you come to pick her up, how more quickly your smiling eyes are meeting mine. . . . I bide my time. Written Oct. 17, 2017 for John Hamilton's "Fragile" Poetry Contest