“Her Landscape” by E.F. Schraeder

Her Landscape

 

 

He undoes the snug pony tail

then gathers my hair and brushes it

 

Each gentle motion delivers a slow tug

to my roots.

 

To bring out the shine,

he says.

 

I pull away from the confident hands

that tenderly massage my scalp

 

to resist becoming a flower arrangement,

a cluster of weeds,

 

something to improve.

 

E.F. Schraeder’s creative work has appeared in On the Issues, Hoax, Haz Mat Review, FourChambers, Lavender Review, and other journals. Forthcoming work is anticipated in the upcoming anthology, Queering Sexual Violence and in the journal Animalia.  Author of a poetry chapbook, The Hunger Tree, Schraeder is also a contributor to an animal advocacy blog(www.clawtheory.com).  Schraeder teaches part time in gender studies and writes grants for small organizations to do good things.  Find more online at www.efschraeder.com