Betty

betty page died.

what i know,
is that
she went insane,
found jesus,
and
she married the same man twice.

everything else i have made up.

she exists
in my mind not as the woman who grew old,
but
who gave the boys and sometimes girls something
to hold on
to besides
their boring
lives where
no one wears cheetah prints except
on T.V

Who
gave perversion a face that sung choirs of halo's
and
took bread at the alter,-
that sat next to you
in the pews
but never
looked at you directly.

Who
was childhood heroine to the girls I
craved,
that sent me diving for pearls in deep empty waters.

Betty's picture was a gift
sent to them in plain envelopes,
never revealing the danger inside.
a subversive greeting
card
a secret language
a nod
and a wink


she gave fantasy
in an open hand,

which is better than losing the your love twice, going mad and looking for a god
that never returns your
phone calls

08'