pinky

do you remember me from the hospital,
she says,
Highbury? Queens?

i do remember.
eyes wide green grapes challenging me to be kind and be one of us her them.
her voice loud on the bus.
a blonde cunt
a body too tall for public transport, grown big on red meat, good parents and bullying smaller children
blonde bitch
scurries to another seat with an avoidant glance
and a little holding of her breath
as though our sickness is caught like a cold.

popping grapes
little mouth wet like a pug
lank pink hair

she talks
in short bursts of question and answer
stroking her pale hands on her blue jeans

to spite the blonde bitch
i match pinky's volume

i don't remember her name.