United Dames Of America

by Aura Spivak

we husk your corn
we solder your sockets
we swim through trenches
& dive past octopi—
united.

our moxie scorches
our buzz startles
we jangle our bubbles &
prance our bouquets,
we tenacious dames.

you mock our tweaks
fondle our suck
goggle through water
while we crash.

America, grasping
to tap at us.

but we’re stopping the sweeps.
no more lapping the puddles.
just you try
to bumble the vase.