WHEN I WAS IN GIRL SCOUTS
ALM No.93, September 2026
POETRY
When I was in Girl Scouts
we went camping in early spring
March
maybe
we stayed in buildings with
fabric walls
it was so cold
no one could sleep
so I suggested that we double up
no one wanted to double up with me
I think I still remember my buddy’s name
I wonder if anyone else remembers
Once there was a girl who was infatuated with a boy
they were on a camping trip
with her aunt and brother
the boy’s sister
the girl was nervous and wanted to impress the boy
there was a game of frisbee
the girl loved books and
not movement
so she was terrible at frisbee
which made her even more
nervous and awkward
A different time in Girl Scouts, I think
I was the first person to try and sleep
someone put a big
black
cricket
in my sleeping bag
it bit me
my lady parts
I don’t remember how awake I was or wasn’t
but I do remember the lingering hurt
from what should have been a stupid little prank
getting glasses in fourth grade
I looked all over
I didn’t like the women’s styles
or just liked one pair in men’s
I don’t remember
A boy in my class got the same glasses
he freaked
I lied about which section they were in
Once there was a teenage girl with a crush
he showed her around
the mowed property
blond hair
blue eyes
she wrote him a letter
he’s her second cousin
Sarah Worrel has co-authored several books of poetry with James Benger: Misfits in the Front Row, Ravenous and Salivating, and About those Losses, which was also written with Lindsey Martin-Bowen.
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