Little Miss Know It All
by Nikki Moen
Little miss
too-big-for-her-britches
miss I gotta see the world
did you listen to some big talk
and trip over the oldest tricks
in the oldest wolves' books
when you ventured outside
(come a little bit closer)
your tiny safe house?
did you think that those
who would rather go limbless
than shameless
really meant it when they uttered
(no really, I'm not lying, no really)
words to your full sincere face?
your crown is at your feet and you're alone
on this mottled plain.
Little Miss,
you can no longer be a little miss
in a world where the peddler comes to call
with glass
(look, gen-u-ine crystal)
and curled white plastic he passes
as bone
in a world
where lepers are still lepers
and the idea for their
cure
has long since been overblown.
