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Ellie Black

Olive Thomas Wants to Die

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or maybe she doesn’t         well anyway         poor thing         doesn’t know there’s a whole         future out there         she can’t dance in         must not understand         other women will sink         their teeth into that husband of hers          so young          and handsome          maybe already have          that’s what I heard anyway           what does Olive Thomas drink           mercury bichloride           straight           oh that’s so funny isn’t it         yes well         mustn’t joke like that         so cruel to speak         ill         of the dead         even if they first         spoke it themselves


Judy Garland’s Body

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is my body too         or so I’ve determined         tense hands         thin legs         small and filled         with foreign objects in hopes           of improvement            Judy Garland was shorter than me             by three and a half inches         and they called her fat and hopeless         and wrapped her up in corsets         and she danced until         her bones snapped in half         until there was no body left         to dance         she loved men who wouldn’t         love her back        this was no accident         Judy Garland’s breath smelled         of paraldehyde         and her eyes never blinked         her mother and the studio         insisted upon two abortions           and yet Judy kept sticking inside           of this body           this body           she wanted out of so badly          and now I think         she is here in mine          in my hands          and my eyes          and my mouth         still moving her feet         hello Judy Garland         I am         so sorry


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