Dirty Socks by Kristin Garth

I still have nightmares of stripping where I

am unprepared. It’s never nudity that makes

me scared. It is the piled white kneesocks on my

comforter at home. Realize the mistake

as I hear on the microphone, “Roll call, ten

minutes,”(night shift is about to begin)

cotton candy body spray, baby lotioned

skin, then I reach into my opened

pull case to extract a sole pair that will

be my disgrace; soiled later tonight on the

main stage, debased by some customer who feels

assuaged, middle aged, deprived of his money

that my filthy occupation has marked me.

Not a thing, in real life, I’d allowed him to see.

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Kristin Garth is a Pushcart, Rhysling nominated sonneteer and a Best of the Net 2020 finalist. Her sonnets have stalked journals like Glass, Yes, Five:2:One, Luna Luna and more. She is the author of 20 books of poetry including Candy Cigarette Womanchild Noir (Hedgehog Poetry Press), Flutter Southern Gothic Fever Dream (TwistiT Press), and Girlarium (Fahmidan Journal). She is the founder of Pink Plastic House a tiny journal and co-founder of Performance Anxiety, an online poetry reading series. Follow her on Twitter: (@lolaandjolie) and her website kristingarth.com