Suzy Zeus Gets Organized by Maggie Robbins Page B

Sil—Sudan and Chad.
    Harry's free to play the field, girls.
    Touch him. It's the latest fad.

CHAPTER 2
Suzy in Between
     

SUZY SETTLES IT
     
    Suzy's station goes to static
    as they play her favorite song.
    Suzy's never had it easy—
    now she's queasy all day long.
    Six A.M.—she feels like she's been
    eating something very wrong.
    Longer grow the winter daytimes.
    Shorter grow the winter nights.
    No more bets on three-card Harry.
    No more fibbing, no more fights.
    Suzy prices string bikinis.
    Suzy shoplifts fishnet tights.
    Suzy severs yes from maybe,
    will from could, and gets a beer.
    No one wants an ugly baby.
    No one wants a baby here.
    Suzy walks along the river,
    listens to a still, small cheer.
    one, two, four, eight
    who you are is who you date
    two, four, eight, sixteen
    who you are is what you've seen
    eight, sixteen, thirty-two
    who you are is what you do
    thirty-two, sixty-four
    spill you spill you on the floor
    one hundred twenty-eight
    who you are is what you hate
    two hundred fifty-six
    who you are is what you fix
    SUZY RELATES
     
    Someone set off bottle rockets
    in the hallway as a joke.
    Suzy saw her upstairs neighbor's
    purple lipstick through the smoke.
    Black-haired bony Bitterino
    asked her in. They had a Coke.
    Bitterino does some acting,
    weekends with a downtown group.
    Keeps a hatchet in her bedroom,
    keeps her hair slicked back with goop.
    Bitterino has a bedtime,
    and a thing for Betty Boop.
    Bitterino talks in riddles.
    Bitterino talks in code.
    Suzy's deep-dish apple pie, but
    Bitterino's a la mode.
    Bitterino has a club act.
    Plans to take it on the road.
    Bitterino's boots unbuckle.
    Bitterino loves to bake.
    Both her sheets are pure Egyptian,
    like the pharoahs'—nothing fake.
    Two alarm clocks: one is news, the
    other rock. She's so awake.
    Bitterino doesn't worry.
    Bitterino doesn't yawn.
    Bitterino asked her how her
    nights were now, with Harry gone.
    Suzy used up all the Kleenex.
    Suzy talked till after dawn.
    Bitterino filled their teacups.
    Gave her bags of tea to keep.
    Bitterino asked if there was
    something hurting way down deep.
    Suzy reached for Bitterino.
    Bitterino said to sleep.
    SUZY RELEASES
     
    Suzy's going to walk on water.
    Suzy's going to harrow hell.
    Suzy's going to write a screenplay.
    Suzy's going to learn to spell.
    Suzy has forgotten him! The
    best revenge is living well.
    Suzy, now a strobe light, with her
    every second passing strange,
    jogs for seven hours straight,
    around a late-night driving range.
    Watching golf balls arc in darkness,
    paths blown wild by winds of change.
    Suzy wants to make it formal:
    Harry's Most Disgusting Trait.
    Makes a total list to choose from—
    eighty-six? No, eighty-eight.
    Bitterino serves her brunch.
    Arranges parsley on the plate.
    SUZY BONDS
     
    Bitterino does graffiti—
    Bitterino bungee jumps.
    Suzy can't get oatmeal smooth, but
    Bitterino likes the lumps.
    Bitterino's had the measles.
    Suzy's only had the mumps.
    Bitterino loves the ferry.
    Bitterino loves the spray.
    Bitterino stands in front and,
    as they start, yells "Fuckin' A!"
    When they sailed to Staten Island,
    Bitterino said she'd pay.
    SUZY BOLTS
     
    Suzy Zeus is tense as stemware,
    not explosive, just on edge—
    needs a ten-foot wall around her,
    or at least a ten-foot hedge.
    Suzy's straining, teeth to toenails,
    easing backward on the ledge.
    Suzy wants a Chevy Nova.
    Suzy wants an indoor pool.
    Wants a town house just like Barbie's.
    Suzy Zeus is no one's fool.
    Suzy Zeus is no one's plaything,
    no one's chattel, no one's tool.
    Suzy's going to hit the highway,
    find a lake or mountain glen.
    Suzy thinks, Who needs a guidebook?
    Doesn't every state have men?
    She can buy a car on credit.
    She can go beyond her Ken.
    Suzy needs a long vacation.
    Suzy needs to get away.
    Suzy isn't liking liking.
    Finding there's so much to say.
    Suzy finds the difference striking.
    Suzy finds it not okay.

CHAPTER 3
Suzy at Large
     

Donnez-moi your telephone