Ruth Carr

TW: rape, child abuse, assault, sexual abuse

 

Shrinking in the Bath

 

Marcy’s second grade teacher asked her

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Marcy replied

I want to be the remnants of a bar of soap.

 

Marcy remembers that her

thighs didn’t flinch the

first time.

They didn’t know they

should.

Remembers holes in her

tights holes in her

fruit of the loom remembers

urine that didn’t discourage rem

embers hot wet cheeks

remembers flinch remembers

push remembers sting the

stomach the stomach remem

bers hands too strong re

members her place

thighs in

place remembers

numb remembers black

remember nothing.

 

That little sliver that’s left in the tray-

Too small to be handled by anymore hands-

Fragile and ignored.

 


Ruth Carr is an advertising major at University of Oregon, with a minor in creative writing. Last year, Ruth was accepted to and completed the KIDD poetry program through University of Oregon, concluding with a thesis on the social implications of language commonly used in poetry to describe women.

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