Karen Heywood

Chester Public Pool, 1969

We peel off wet swimsuits
while other girls giggle.
Laughter grows
between whispers

Grapefruits…
          Melons…
                   Breasts...

I do not giggle,
do not see dimpled
sour skin
or slick circular melons.

I see smooth pear-shaped slopes,
and I want to touch their ripeness.
I want to feel their weight in my hand.

Twelve-year-old girls
do not know their metaphors
like we do,
at thirteen.