STILETTOS

It ain’t for you
I’m out in stilettos
red-hot stompin’ down the boulevard
baring calves like offering mangos
for whoever wants them -
having passersby imagine
the feel of flush, honeyed skin on
stony hearts in slippery-wet interiors.
I’m out click-swing-clicking hip bones high
because I like how it feels.
I’m out oscillating from the waist
like danzón as smooth as a mermaid’s fin -
getting the dry onlookers to gawk
from their spotless windows and
mind the lunar tide flux of the pelvis.
And when I pause to change direction
I glide my feet apart on gritty asphalt
enough for balance - create the kind of friction
that makes other women avoid me -
makes them cross the street
to judge me like a sucia,
the kind that has you
wondering if I’ll let you
front intent like praise – if I’ll
raise heels off the ground and
pierce the composed air for you -
if it’s my place where I’m going -
if I’ll keep the stilettos on when I rest
and if I’ll let you follow.

(Alejandra Garza is first-generation Mexican-American, born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Boston University. She currently lives along the lower Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, and works in nonprofit association management. Visit her at http://redpetals04.wordpress.com/)