I glanced back over my poem Wanton and wondered what had brought that on and I suddenly realized it was the new girl from down in accounting, you women may know the type, so exquisitely feminine you almost find yourself offering her your chair, so you can imagine how the men react. I thought I was old enough to not be this insecure but for just a moment she made me feel like this...

She walked in the room
She didn’t have to do anything else
She walked in
And suddenly I became more overweight
More dowdy, unsure of myself
She walked in
And I was sixteen again
Walking into the girls restroom
And finding it full of cheerleaders
I was awkward, gawky
Wanting nothing more than to go away
Somewhere that I was sure of myself again
Somewhere that I knew my value
And acted on it
She walked in
And suddenly I needed reassurance I haven’t needed
Or wanted in years
Validation of myself as a woman
Proof that I’m still desirable
How can a woman do this to me
Just by being who she is
And looking like she does
What does it say about me
And who I am