Kate Kadleck

Suburban Virgin

Isn’t it hot that your girlfriend’s a drummer?
my mother posed to my first and worst darling,
the one with parents from different planets
and a villainous last name that I 
failed to take as an omen. 

The so-called boyfriend shrugged, 
shook his head, said, maybe if she played 
the flute. To clarify, I would never play 
the flute. I would never play any instrument
that demands I press my lips 

to its membrane. Our marching band 
director bore a bulbous nose and endless 
pockets. Whenever I fingered a tambourine, 
he insisted that I dance while I played, 
read the music while I swayed, 

put my fifteen-year-old hips into it.

Reader, how do I put this?
Only the rind of me left that football field.
The marrow stayed.

---

Kate Kadleck is a writer and marriage and family therapist based in Dubuque, Iowa, where she resides with her partner and their two dogs and eight chickens. She is infinitely inspired by the landscape of the Midwest, having lived in Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, and now Iowa. Kate has a penchant for dollhouses, cold brew, yoga, and midcentury modern design. Her poetry has been previously featured in the Tenth Muse, One Hand Clapping, Prairie Margins, and Persimmons. She can be found at @kathrynkadleck on Instagram.