Angry Girl
25
June
I see you.
Every morning.
Angry girl.
As we leave for work, loaded trucks carrying us to a jobsite, I see you on the sidewalk, pumping your fists.
Your arms.
For a few seconds each morning, I watch.
Furrowed brow, leaning hard into a wind that isn’t there, swinging your locked-straight arms as your feet thump the concrete.
Determined.
Burning calories.
But wearing a frown.
Like you’re mad at someone.
Like someone told you you’d be pretty if you just lost a few pounds.
Or a few inches.
Like someone isn’t treating you the way you deserve to be treated.
Don’t you know? You don’t have to be twiggy to be beautiful.
Don’t you know you deserve to be treated well?
Can’t you see?
You’re already pretty.
Except maybe for the frown.
I hope you figure it out.
I hope he figures it out.
I hope you stop frowning.
Angry girl.
1. Natalie | June 27th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Hmmm, were you watching me work out last night?
I tend to get really focused when I’m working out and that probably means I furrow my brows.
2. Jack | June 27th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
My dad used to run distance races and even did a few marathons. The family had the suck job of sitting around for the better part of a couple hours, just to catch him at the moment he passed by the corner we were waiting at, all to cheer him on. And when he got to us, he always had a blank look on his face. Like he didn’t recognize us or something.
My sister and I got pretty tired of being the cheering crew after awhile. Now that I spend time running in my off-season, I get it. You’re putting every ounce you have into telling yourself to keep going, so there’s little energy left for anything - a smile, a wave, nada.
But this girl just always seems angry. Arms stiff and straight like boards, like she just caught her husband kissing another woman and is huffing her way to her mother’s house, cussing under her breath. And I’ve always wondered why I’ve never once seen her look even relaxed, let alone happy.
Kudos for working out. It takes determination to stick with it. So go get sticky.