Alexandra Ernst is the 4th place prize winner of the Spring 2021 Sad Girls Club Poetry Contest
Amidst Barbies with ridiculous snarls,
a heaping pile of shiny
dress up costumes,
and dusty trains crammed helter-skelter
inside a rickety bin,
our gaggle of girls
scurried about
pulling out drums,
one by one—
lime green with glittery stars
as if transported from
a wholly different universe.
Nothing could compete,
not the smiling bouncy ball,
nor the beaded jump ropes,
not even, our latest obsession,
the two-toned teepee,
where we sheltered each day
to share our endless secrets.
Under the playroom’s
stark, overhead lighting,
my brother’s first drum kit
emanated an otherworldly glow.
Electrified by our discovery,
not knowing anything about drumming
nor even if girls could be drummers,
we took turns,
sticks in hand,
clanging cymbals
and pounding bass pedal
in order to create
our own frenetic rhythms.
Sweat dripping over our faces
as we ripped out a beat
until arms and legs
grew heavy with fatigue.
Dropping down to lay side by side
on the hardwood floor,
listening to borrowed 45’s,
we stared at the
patterns of light, like crystal flowers,
on the windowsill,
and mouthed Ch-ch-ch-ch Changes
until the sun
dipped below the sea.
Alexandra Ernst was born in New York City. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, her poetry has appeared in Oranges & Sardines (Poets & Artists), Stepaway Magazine, All Things Girl, and Blue Print Review, among other literary journals. Having spent twenty-six years in Paris, France writing and raising a family, she and her husband currently reside in Southern Vermont.
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