Lori looked at the many pieces of paper
pinned to her body by other people.
The word shame printed in many hands
in pen, pencil and marker.
Almost all of the authors were men
but twelve women joined their club.
One at a time Lori removed the pins
and their prickly critiques.
She stacked the pieces of paper together
bound them with a rubber band
and added them to her collection
sorted by date.
The pins she added to a garden-size trash bin
that was now three-quarters full.
The collection was quite large
and she thought of making a Rubenesque collage
out or all the pieces of paper
and several hedgehogs out of all the pins.
copyright © 2022 Kenneth P. Gurney
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