Call on a Saturday
Her mother told her the phone
was for emergencies and ended the call.
As if the girl’s life wasn’t slipping away
on the slickness of a suppository,
in the moan of the muscles careening her from room to room,
in the hunger as constant as a heartbeat.
The girl slammed the bathroom door
and waited for her insides to wilt.
Valentina Cano is a student of classical singing who spends whatever free time she has either reading or writing. Her works have appeared in numerous publications and her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Web. Her debut novel, The Rose Master, was published in 2014 and was called a “strong and satisfying effort” by Publishers Weekly.