Deborah Bacharach

Deborah Bacharach is the author of Shake & Tremor (Grayson Books, 2021) and After I Stop Lying (Cherry Grove Collections, 2015). Her work has appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, New Letters, Poet Lore and The Writer’s Chronicle among many other journals, and she has received a Pushcart prize honorable mention. She is currently a poetry reader for SWWIM and Whale Road Review. Find out more about her at DeborahBacharach.com.

The Truth According to the Big Bad Wolf

With mom’s stash of gin and Hohos,
I checked in to General Hospital,

But no one’s gonna gape through a veil at me like that.
Full truth, I have a nose like a busted tractor.
Kids call me Big Ear Buzz.

On Valentine’s Day, the school forced us
to give. I got store bought skewered hearts.
You’re a Pill! they said.
True story.

Every man wants the good Valentine,
the time it takes to hand glue lace
and a name spelled out in glitter. Every man
wants capped and fine
teeth like mine.