Bite Off the Roses - Count Zero

That twelve-year old girl sure knows how to flirt

She gets all her cues from popular noise

She’s fond of that line 'bout «hiking the skirt»

She’s eager to blow her future on boys

Sneak out with Denise to charm some rich squirt

Who, she’s sensing, would rather she be someone else

Moonlight finds them dragging her through the dirt

Face up on a skateboard, strapped on by belts

Fruit flies in her hair;

bile stains on her shirt;

Eyes bloodshot through lashes stucco’d with mud;

Pinesap on her arm;

I.V.

starts to spurt

Nurse says they found .31 in her blood

Bite off the roses in my head

Stuff my pillowcase with lead

Shove my wings deep underground

Bite off the roses in my head

Stuff my pillowcase with lead

And shattered things