Anything but

Ann Wallace

She will never tell you
but the girl who shrugs
away from your touch,
who faces you
with chin down, eyes up,
slips from sight
as all eyes are watching,
feels anything but coy.

Why do you expect to be told
that the girl who glares
down your advance,
throws her shoulders
back as firmly as her
voice is steady to make
you recoil from her reproach,
feels anything but secure?

Is it not obvious
that the girl who smirks
in response to your hand,
flips away lightly
and makes a crack
at your attempt as she turns
back to her friends laughing,
is anything but amused?

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Ann E. Wallace is very thrilled that her first poetry collection Counting by Sevens is forthcoming from Main Street Rag in 2019. You can find her previously published poems and creative essays online at AnnWallacePhD.com or follow her on Twitter.