print previewback JESSICA FRANCK
Eve as Girl with Snake Duty in 7th Grade Science
The farmer boys’ fingers
graze me, but I am not a field
of wheat. My cells have no walls.
I find this as interesting as Stan,
the class snake, who slides
around my chest searching for heat.
Stan gets anxious before he sheds
because his eyes film over like sheets
of milk. He can’t really see.
Similarly, I can’t seem to get a grip
on my body. Boys who pinch my ass
and slip notes in my jeans lay blame
as if it were flattery. It almost feels wrong
not to fall for it. Teacher asks me to lick
a slide to magnify my spit. Under the lens,
corkscrews of bacteria breed in my bad
choices. They chase sweetness, leave waste.
No one will look at my mouth the same way.
Every two weeks, I feed a mouse
to Stan. Some say he is monstrous.
I say it’s natural, but he never eats
until I cover his cage. There’s nothing
I can do about his body, which always
lumps into shape, a dead giveaway. 
Annunciation
Eve as 16-Year-Old Girl Who Eats an Earthworm on a Dare
Eve as Girl with Snake Duty in 7th Grade Science