Uptown Girl
My brother and I
drove to Wal Mart
an hour away with Billy Joel
between us.
Boom box,
battery packed.
We could crack like
pond ice any
minute. Stomping
into the rest of our years.
Todd hopped the train
from town on weekends
to visit, even though Mom said
he’d get pulled under. Scared us
with legs ripping off
stories. The whole town
a warning—a school assembly,
an engineer saying,
I remember one lady
I killed. So casual.
I had on my brother’s
letterman jacket. I hoped
someone would think
I had a boyfriend. I covered
my mouth at the screen—
a woman in her truck
looking for a way forward
or back, and then the train,
and then nothing.
Stacy Boe Miller is a prose writer and a poet. Her work can be found in The Sun, Copper Nickel, Mid-American Review, Bellingham Review, Terrain.org, and other journals. Her book Ready to Answer With Hunger is out now from C&R Books. Her book I Sharpen My Teeth was a finalist for the Wheeler Prize, The Jake Adam York Prize, and The Poetry Book Prize with Barrow Street Press. More of her work, including information about the WorkWhile podcast can be found at stacyboemiller.com.
Currently Reading:
"The Genius of Birds" by Jennifer Ackerman
"Live Caught" by R. Cathey Daniels
Latest issue of "Copper Nickel" (“which is so good!” - Stacy Boe Miller)
For More About the Author: