Girls I Knew.

I once knew a girl who used only pencils.
She liked them sharp and the smell of them
out of the manual grinder.

She listened to classical music
and everyone liked her for it.

I once knew a girl who was too heavy to ride horses.
But her boot leathers creaked like two ancient doorways
as she lugged a trunk of curry combs.

She smoked cigarettes behind the barn
and never once burned it down.

I once knew a girl with remarkable teeth.
They weren't arrow-straight, but diamond-strong
like she could chomp through a femur.

She flashed them under a nose-
that must have either hooked or turned upward.

I once knew a girl who wore floor-length sweaters
Sometimes they were primarily-colored and beginning to pill
I often wondered if they scratched at her smooth skin.

She lightly swept her fingertips against chair rails
and walked on her heels--body tipped backward.