The Other Woman

The repulsion and hatred that I felt for her
Ran deep
She was jealous of me
Always wanting to wear my makeup
My clothes, my underwear

My defense of this was to
Not wear makeup
Put on his clothes
Take on masculinity
She couldn’t steal my feminity
If I didn’t have any

So she found her own
Shopping in the women’s department
Bringing me with as her cover
By now I weighed as much as her
Our size was the same

I tried to hide my embarrassment
Sometimes refusing to enter that department
Letting his shop on his own
Pretending I was not with him

I’d walk around the edges
Trying to observe the reactions
To see if anyone realized
He wasn’t shopping for his wife

He didn’t mind the stares
He enjoyed the attention
Even though he was dressed in men’s clothes
I could see her
On his face and in his mannerisms

It angered him that I didn’t like her
There was pride in her eyes
She was the conqueror and there was nothing I could do about it
But Leave

April 15, 2002 Elaine Carlson