Pretty

Tyler Holmes

With lashes like a cartoon doe,
And cheeks plump and rosy from the cold,
I lift my little head (that’s quite heavy, for me)
And say to another four year-old, who has just fallen down
And scraped her knee:
You’re too pretty to cry.

I’m seated cross-legged on your floor.
I watch you dust your cheeks in the mirror
And your big brown eyes
And big mauve lips
With cinnamon colors crafted by angels
That falter in comparison
To your tawny brown skin.
I call your name before you go, just to say:
You look so pretty tonight, sis.

A grin spreads across my face
As he describes the opportunities waiting for me.
He tells me I’m driven, that I’m going to go far.
The elevator hums to a halt
And a ding beckons us to exit
When I feel his hand on my waist, as he says:
And you’re a pretty little thing, too.

Tyler Holmes is a senior studying Sociology and Critical Theory from Bolingbrook, Il. She wants to be a pediatrician one day and has a shi-tzu side kick named Benji.