Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations

Soft Money

They're sexy

because they're needy,
which degrades them.

They're sexy because
they don't need you.

They're sexy because they pretend
not to need you,

but they're lying,
which degrades them.

They're beneath you
and it's hot.

They're across the border,
rhymes with dancer --

they don't need
to understand.

They're content to be
(not mean),

which degrades them
and is sweet.

They want to be
the thing-in-itself

and the thing-for-you —

Miss Thing —

but can't.

They want to be you,
but can't,

which is so hot.

From Money Shot by. Copyright 2011 by Rae Armantrout. Excerpted by permission of the publisher, Wesleyan University Press

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Rae Armantrout

Support Local News and Stories: How You Help Sustain VPM

Community members – like you – sustain VPM so we can deliver local news coverage, educational programming and inspiring stories. Your donations make it possible.

Support Now
CTA Image