Come Here Little Girl

[~Sophia~]

Come Here Little Girl


It weighs on me - this elephant in the parlor.
This larceny of wood-be Lancelots flashing
yellow teeth and green backs, the
undercurrent lucre of

tumescent little flags raised by the
holy blue grail (the drug of choice
on Rogaine Row) they swallow virility,
and swear allegiance to the loyal order
of old fools.

If I could, I would pinch their burrowing
egos with tweezers, yank the heads out
like ticks in folds. Tattoo
buying her youth won’t bring back yours
on their sorry butts and send them home
to their gullible others.

It irks me, this needy campaign without
conscience - their own sanctified wives
and daughters safe in the holy lands.
Distance absolving collateral damage,
sixteen year olds carrying baby long tooths.

Heretic at the altar. Throw a few
pesos on the collection plate, high five
the victory then shuffle onto a plane
to plan your next assault.

Of course you’re not a pedophile if
you're on a "golf vacation"
with your buddies and you
don’t ask her age.

[Silas Thorne]

Intense, meaningful and true. I think the idea of the crusades, together with Lancelot and the grail images work very well, and they add to the power of the whole poem, making the criticism of the situation harsher and more cutting.

I particularly appreciated (because I think 'liked' is hard for me to write considering the topic) these lines:
This larceny of wood-be Lancelots flashing
yellow teeth and green backs, the
undercurrent lucre of

tumescent little flags raised by the
holy blue grail (the drug of choice
on Rogaine Row) they swallow virility,
and swear allegiance to the loyal order
of old fools.

If I could, I would pinch their burrowing
egos with tweezers, yank the heads out
like ticks in folds.

So powerful.

This is a great poem. I'm sure it will make many people seriously think about this situation.

[~Sophia~]

Hi Silas, I'm glad the message is clear in this. It's really disgraceful and prevalent here in the D.R. and I'm guessing in most 2nd and 3rd world countries (first world countries too). Wherever there is poverty, there is opportunity for those without morals.

Thanks for commenting!!!!

[a_little_wisp]

Sophia, Sophia!!!!! We were just reading Malory's "Lancelot and Elaine" today in Medieval Lit!!! CRAZY.

I don't like Lancelot much.
I don't like pedophiles either.

The greasy characters you've depicted here made my stomach churn. I agree with Silas entirely- comparing the conquest for the girls to the "holy" crusades, sleazy pedos to "noble" knights, it fits, very well. Wonderful imagery! And it was kind of like you were kicking the offenders in the 'nads with words. Awesome, Sophia.

[~Sophia~]

LOL wisp.... if I had my way, square in the nads with pointed stilettos instead of a keyboard. I don't like Lancelot either!!!

[SleepyWitch]

I like "gullible others" :)
I'm not sure about the last stanza. When I first read your poem, that's the one I liked best because it's extremely witty and pungent. ... but it sounds like something you could hear in a comedy show (like Larry King etc). So maybe it's a bit too funny for this context. On the other hand, reading it after the rest of the poem, it doesn't sound funny at all.

[~Sophia~]

Hi Sleepywitch. You know, in reading your comment, I was surprised to see the word "funny". I was actually seething when I wrote it and didn't intend humor at all! It's something that has really bothered me since the first day I set foot on this island but I supposed my friends and I do joke about it a lot.

You've never seen anything like it. Old men from around the world come here to buy a young girl (some as young as 14) for a week or two. I could go on and on...