Girl’s Room

______For George Oppen

A stranger peeked in

Plath’s and Dickinson’s windows

late at night, and thought, “Man,

these are lassie rooms,” and laughed

alone.  Yes, a woman’s room

is a girly room,

and I hope men know that

the intelligent prostitute

will excite a man, a whore

not a girl reaching

for the headboard for balance,

while a boy lies beneath, laughing.