The Blue Pencil Online

Writing & Publishing at Walnut Hill

The Blue Pencil Online

The Politician’s Aide

Sir, methadone creates new ills,
and legalization’s yet weaker.
You may profess plans for social reform,
but cinderblock still is much cheaper.

*

Auntie Anti-Anti-Vivisection

Fetal pigs aren’t human,
lab rats aren’t divine, and—
what was that?
Don’t touch that cat!
He’s a pet. He’s mine.

*

The Post-Menopausal Housewife

I cannot help but envy
my kitchen Frigidaire its heat:
I’ve too much chill in my crisper,
so my fruits are too cold to eat.

*

The Female Misogynist

The second wave only soaked skin in brine,
and the third wave left us too wet.
The Times says there’s nothing a woman can’t do.
Hey—you wanna make a bet?

*

Thoroughly Modern Helen of Troy

I’ve started six wars on the Barbary coast
and made a great fuck-up of France,
broken twelve hearts with one cruel gaze—
and that’s just the day I wore pants.

Sadie McCarney

old.woman
Illustration by Chang-Hyun Shin, ‘11