Virginia Watts

Virginia Watts is the author of poetry and stories found in CRAFT, The Florida Review, Reed Magazine, Pithead Chapel, Permafrost Magazine, Broadkill Review among others. Her poetry chapbooks are available from Moonstone Press. She has been nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. A short story collection is upcoming from The Devil’s Party Press. Visit her at https://virginiawatts.com/. 

Sometimes the Girl Stank

Maybe her familyrationed fuel oil, hot water.A family of 6 boys and this girlliving in a cabin in the woodsbehind the abandoned boy scout camp.What was her name?Mandy? Francie?Tall, boney.Hair raggedas if she cut it herself.Baggy t-shirts.Knock off Keds.She rode a rusted SchwinnI’d seen beforeat the bottomof the town dumpwhere my brothershot BBs at trash.In middle schoolembarrassing thingsbegan to happen.I worried.What if the girlcouldn’t affordfeminine sanitary products.What about the dispensersin the school bathrooms.If she’d askedI would have given herone of Dad’s screwdriversfor keeps. I guess she managed.

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