The Friday Poem: ‘Born Sexy Yesterday’ by Lily Holloway
Kelly LeBrock in Weird Science (1985)
The Friday Poem returns with a new poem by Lily Holloway.
Born Sexy Yesterday
I your newborn android fresh
eyes wide and sparkling with pixels
my womanform gobsmacked
my mouth so open
no memories 38DD
first thoughts formed: you! you again!
so kind so ready to teach me
things like this is how you zip up your jeans
and the men in the television cannot hurt you
you say: I don’t know why girls won’t give me a chance
I reply: you are the best man I have ever known
selfless selfless you teaching me why
it was wrong to emerge from the shower (no towel)
in front of your old frat brothers during the super bowl
you are so patient when I get confused
by the telephone by anatomy
by words that have secret meanings like
snowflake whipped and butterface
when you took me aside at your office party and said
stop laughing at greg’s jokes you will give him
the wrong idea
you were so thoughtful to consider his feelings
I would never want to trick anybody!
and when I asked: what’s a kiss?
and you replied: I can show you
I imagined what it would be like
to be born human small and warm
and be cradled in your heavy arms
The Friday Poem is edited by Chris Tse. Submissions are currently closed.
Lily Holloway
Lily Holloway is a powerlifting enthusiast and third-year MFA candidate at Syracuse University. They are a 2024 winner of the Griffith Review Emerging Voices competition and placed second in the 2024 Black Warrior Review Poetry Competition. You can find their work published or forthcoming in various places including Black Warrior Review, Sundog Lit, Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems, Peach Mag, and Hobart After Dark. Their chapbook was published in 2021 as a part of Auckland University Press' AUP New Poets 8. Find them on Twitter and Instagram @milfs4minecraft or through their website lilyholloway.co.nz.