My Friend Flicka

two girls best friends live out in the hills
near San Francisco   they wear dirty t-shirts
and flip flops    they slouch everywhere and 
give people the evil eye    they are unable to sit
up straight     prop their dusty feet on the armrests 
and are frequently upside down and restless
.
they nag each other about their collections of 
plastic horses   argue about whose is better
one girl’s bigger and older    in secret she 
feels awkward next to the smaller girl  admires
the way her ribs show
.
they braid each other’s long greasy blond hair
all the time       walk endlessly up and down the hill
between their two houses    sometimes they stop
and sit at the edge of the road    throw pebbles
at each other and collect pine cones
.
one is saving up for a saddle     one has a pool
they draw horses on their notebooks   horses on 
their mirrors     their magic markers smell like 
grape or bubble gum
.
there is no one to watch them when they are in the
pool   sometimes when theyare roasting in their bikinis 
on towels they talk very slowly and then fall asleep    
later they will forget what was said
.
when no one’s looking they fight and bite each other
deny it all later    they smell like hay and rotten apples
refuse to shower or use soap chlorine turns their hair
spring green
.
when their parents aren’t home they whisper and take
vodka & rum from the cupboard next to the kitchen    
they  sip it in juice glasses and make faces     
when they are drunk they get headaches 
                           and kiss each other
                               to practice for boys