Stone Soup Servings is a regular series for Oddball Magazine that features upcoming performers at Stone Soup Poetry, the long-running spoken word venue in the Boston area that has recently partnered with Oddball Magazine. Stone Soup Poetry meets from 8-10 p.m. every Monday at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery at 106 Prospect Street with an open mike sign-up at 7:30 p.m.

On March 17, poet, playwright and educator Gemma Cooper-Novack helps bring a close to the Saint Patrick’s Day weekend festivities. If you were intending on staying home on Monday to rest up, read the poem below and reconsider your plans.

 

Straight Girls

I know it isn’t worth it, after all
—desire that overwhelms and misdirects—
but then, again, despite myself, I fall.

The longing hits me sharper than an awl,
so sharp the pain serves only to perplex.
I know it isn’t worth it, after all.

She’s out of bounds, but still I heed the call
each time, of backs and fingers, lips and necks.
No matter what I tell myself, I fall.

The problem, taken on its own, is small,
but still its repercussions are complex.
I know it isn’t worth it, after all,

but if you’ve longed, you know you can’t forestall
it, know it crashes, burns, and wrecks,
and you, no matter how resistant, fall.

I want to take her in that car, this hall,
I want to have inevitable sex.
I know it isn’t worth it, after all,
but even when I know that’s true, I fall.