Casting

Meg Pokrass

He orders me to pose
arms outstretched,
measures my waist
with his hands. 

When he stands behind me
staring at my ass,
my fingers stiffen.
Can you open that little mouth for me? he says, 
poking at my teeth.

He says I have an Irish-y, Jewish-y face, 
and smiles. "Not a look they know 
what to do with, Hon."

On the way to my telemarketing shift, 
his words replay like episodes.
"Come back next week,
We’ll grab some lunch,
see what I can do."

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Meg Pokrass is the author of five flash fiction collections and a book of prose poetry, Cellulose Pajamas, for which she received the Blue Light Book Award. Her work has been widely internationally anthologized, most recently in New Micro (W.W. Norton & Co., 2018), Flash Fiction International (W.W. Norton & Co., 2015) and The Best Small Fictions 2018, 2019. She serves as Founding Co-Editor of Best Microfiction 2020 and teaches flash fiction online and in person. Find out more at megpokrass.com.