They fall from your hips quietly
starting down around your thighs, then gone.
You step out of them
and become a naked little girl.
Then into bed
and for a long moment nothing happens
then the sigh starts it
the legs let go.

Girls have little hollows in their backs
and hold the whole of autumn in their arms
their smiles are warm valley smiles.

When you sit
or stand
or talk
or walk
or look around
or smile
you look like a little girl
but you feel like a woman.