Written and Creative Direction by Sage Greenwood
Photography by Lilli Drescher
Models Nicole Guth, Ruby McLean, and Sage Greenwood
Not-So-Girl Barbie![](https://word.emerson.edu/gauge/files/2023/12/ChildsEyes13-203x300.jpg)
Mother put down the plastic box,
said “Sweetie, it looks just like you.”
The little girl gave a bright pink Barbie smile;
she loves playing with dolls so, so much! She paints faces
in pretty colors and when she rips heads off
she does it gently because she loves it so, so much!
When mother falls asleep,
the little girl has the perfect plan.
She fills the bathtub with bubbles,
drops the doll right in,
presses it down to the porcelain.
Layer the Body/Carve Out the Self
From the hallway, dim light leaks
onto blue cheeks, pink throat,
red cut across the face; smile
of a paint-person made of acrylic, still wet.
Handprints on the wall, mirror, sink;
a nightlight, layered to useless
I reach—
the paint-person reaches for the door handle—
Not me. It’s not me.
The paint-person blocks out the light.