Young Woman with Big Scissors Cuts Across Second Street

Young Woman with Big Scissors Cuts Across Second Street

She cut right in front of me so fast 

        my red Fusion divided like the Red Sea,

she’s not old enough to be a celebrity seamstress, 

          altering wild party dresses at more rakish angles, 

she’s not swaggering enough to stage  

          a ferocious cut at today’s Fashion Show, 

she’s not tall enough to be a pro basketball player, 

        ready to snip the net after a national upset, 

and she’s not a pop rock singer headed for the River Music Experience

        to shred her rival’s latest hit song. 

She embraces her shiny silver-bladed scissors, 

        pressing her sharp baby into her soft, bright dress.  

I catch her in my rearview mirror, pointing her scissors’ tip  

        at the Skybridge like she’s chasing   

        its green light running out to the Mississippi River 

        to clip for a Grand Opening.  

                                                       --Dick Stahl