Turning 14 today

Memoir of an Unrepentant Thief

if you were to shake my tiny sticky hand
you’d see a thin girl
with a rainbow-striped dress she’s outgrown
yellowish hair matted to one side of her head

since my mother is busy reading her romances
I roam the streets and backyards with my own bare feet
when I find an unlocked neighbor’s house
I head straight to their kitchen
I love the smell of other people’s houses
they are so large and shiny and their
refrigerators are always full of things
good to eat like butter and milk
I love to scoop the butter from a stick
with my thumb and lick it off
sometimes also they have apples and cats
which are fun in their own way
(if they let me touch them)
I go into the living room and sit cross legged
in front of the TV and watch Sesame Street
until someone comes home to find me