Girls’ Club - Alexandra Ernst

Alexandra Ernst is the 4th place prize winner of the Spring 2021 Sad Girls Club Poetry Contest

Amidst Barbies with ridiculous snarls,

a heaping pile of shiny

dress up costumes,

and dusty trains crammed helter-skelter

inside a rickety bin,

our gaggle of girls

scurried about

pulling out drums,

one by one—

lime green with glittery stars

as if transported from

a wholly different universe.

Nothing could compete,

not the smiling bouncy ball,

nor the beaded jump ropes,

not even, our latest obsession,

the two-toned teepee,

where we sheltered each day

to share our endless secrets.

Under the playroom’s

stark, overhead lighting,

my brother’s first drum kit

emanated an otherworldly glow.

Electrified by our discovery,

not knowing anything about drumming

nor even if girls could be drummers,

we took turns,

sticks in hand,

clanging cymbals

and pounding bass pedal

in order to create

our own frenetic rhythms.

Sweat dripping over our faces

as we ripped out a beat

until arms and legs

grew heavy with fatigue.

Dropping down to lay side by side

on the hardwood floor,

listening to borrowed 45’s,

we stared at the

patterns of light, like crystal flowers,

on the windowsill,

and mouthed Ch-ch-ch-ch Changes

until the sun

dipped below the sea.

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Alexandra Ernst was born in New York City. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, her poetry has appeared in Oranges & Sardines (Poets & Artists), Stepaway Magazine, All Things Girl, and Blue Print Review, among other literary journals. Having spent twenty-six years in Paris, France writing and raising a family, she and her husband currently reside in Southern Vermont.