Jane Doe

By Mandy Seiner

Girl as a symbol for youth

Girl as a metaphor for longing

Girl as a butterfly

Girl as a bee

Girl as a red-stained set of sheets locked in a chest

            at the bottom of the closet

Girl as something men can place themselves in relation to

Girl as a thing that can only be defined in relation to men

Girl as landmark

Girl as herself

Girl as someone else because her self is too complicated

Girl as who she is in the eyes of others

Girl as her failures

Girl as her shortcomings

Girl as a shadow on the sidewalk

Girl as a shadow of herself

Girl as someone whose shadow does all the talking

Girl as a mouth that cannot speak

Girl as a mouth that is useless unless it’s smiling

Girl as not quite a smile

Girl as a smile, but only from the right angle

Girl as a da Vinci on the wall of a museum

Girl as artwork surrounded by bulletproof glass because

            once someone tried to take a knife to her insides

Girl as something to be looked at, but not touched

Girl as something to by touched by everyone but herself

Girl as herself, even though it’s complicated

Girl as a dead language

Girl as a cut-out tongue

Girl as the last breath leaving the body