Poetry by Glennys Egan

              ​ ​​Alexandra Frolova CC



cw // allusions to sexual coercion of a minor and self harm


A Story in Three Parts

your daughter dyes her hair black and you can’t hide
that you hate it. she spends more time on the internet than 
you wish she would. your daughter keeps to herself these 
days, avoids friends who were once like brothers. she 
throws your bouquet to the ground and storms off when 
you ask why, fresh blooms of anger scattered on the 
kitchen floor. /
 
your daughter gives a handjob to a boy who swears he’ll 
tell everyone she’s a slut if she doesn’t. your daughter sees 
the irony that he can only really ruin her now that it’s 
true. she spends months learning how bodies work, one 
whisper away from humiliation. your daughter is only 
liberated once he makes good on his threat; nothing left for 
her to lose. /

your daughter’s friend’s mother calls and tells you that your 
daughter cuts her wrists. your daughter cries when you 
confront her, agrees to talk to someone. she listens to a 
lady explain that every girl feels insecure at the age of
thirteen. your daughter thanks the psychologist when she 
assures her that she’s pretty. your daughter waits to be asked 
the right question. 
 
it never comes. /
​

Raised in the Canadian prairies, Glennys Egan writes poetry in Ottawa, Canada, where she works for the government like everyone else. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Taco Bell Quarterly, Funicular Magazine, The Aurora Journal and several other lovely places. You can find her and her dog, Boris, online at @gleegz.

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