Girl (an erasure*)
By Elizabeth Mercurio
How few centuries have let women be girls first
–Brenda Shaughnessy
One fourteen-year-old girl led police to start
investigation of Epstein in 2005 defendant paid for massage
recruiter girl was given $200 for having brought the girl to defendant
she was too emotional
girl brought a classmate to defendant’s home to perform a massage
Jeffrey Epstein engaged in sexual intercourse with Jane Doe #1
who was then a seventeen year old girl
in the presence of a Jane Doe #2 who was a
fourteen-year-old girl Alan Dershowitz tried to discredit girl
who accused Jeffrey Epstein of rape One girl I liked – very nice the only cute one
the party wasn’t that great the birthday girl was turning 18
most of her friends were VERY young defendant took nude photographs of Jane Doe
who was then a sixteen year old girl I’ll find girl for you this time I promise
Europe would be better to find little girl what do you want me to do with this girl?
I sent you these pics of Russian girl another girl had to work Sunday
Monday after school? I would like a girl for Miami to spend the winter with me
Jane Doe has suffered traumatic injuries Prince Andrew and girl 17
Epstein would want to see each girl at least two to three times she may have brought
anywhere from 20 to 50 girls so many girls now she looks pretty though…
nice only problem is she’s 30 remember I brought the girl to ur house in Palm Beach
Epstein hated one girl because she initiated liked shy and timid girls
Your littlest girl was a little naughty I have a New one she is Russian too
let me know what you think about this one a very hot girl I didn’t say anything
mean last night I was just asking questions also found you a girl as you asked.
*Note: This erasure poem was created using the Epstein files as source material. In just a small portion of the released Epstein files the word girl appears over 11,000 times.
Elizabeth Mercurio (she/her) is the author of the chapbooks Doll and Words in a Night Jar. She earned an MFA from The Solstice Low-Residency Program. Her work has appeared in Lily Poetry Review, Ample Remains, The Wild Word, Thimble Magazine, Vox Populi, and elsewhere. She is a Pushcart and best of the net nominated poet and was named a finalist in the Cordella Press Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize and the Two Sylvias Press Wilder Poetry Prize.
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