The Most Untouched Woman in the World

Some women are touched women

they have experienced the pleasures of the flesh

Other women are untouched

they have only experienced the pleasures of their fantasies

But I'm not here to talk about other women - 

only me.

I am the most untouched woman in the world.

When I was younger, I came to a fork in the road.

The first path was ideal - or would have been, 

had the weeds not overgrown

there were wildflowers and maple trees

But there were also mushrooms, poison ivy patches,

and thorny bushes

there was a small creek at the beginning of the trail

that I would have to jump over 

or wade through

and beyond all of the initial beauty of the path

there was a darkness and a sense of danger

which I was not ready to face

So I turned away to the other path

The second path was grassy and freshly cut

it seemed nearly void of all mosquitos and flies,

and I thought it a quaint little path for a stroll

So I chose the second path, in secret hopes 

that it would eventually lead back to the first

Now and then, I have occasional encounters 

with the first path, and yet

it is still so far away

It seems to me that the longer I travel the second path, 

the longer it gets.

I'm walking alongside the creek, now,

very thirsty for a drink

but I can't quite reach the water

it's become too wide to jump to the other side

I see my friends across the stream,

walking along the other path

We see each other, wave, and exchange words

but they are touched women 

I am not.

How funny a thing it is to be walking on one path 

with a friend, and then

turn around to see that you've been talking to a mirror image of the girl across the river

All of a sudden, she is the same person

but in a different reality

And the funniest thing is that none of that really

bothers me

What actually gets to me is that I feel

like I'm running out of chances

Like every man sees that I'm untouched,

and therefore wishes not to harm my purity

Well, listen, world, 

I'm growing a little tired of my purity

And I'd just assume cross the river, now

Will this era of my life will always remain

untouched?

(approx. 1982)