Summary

The speaker describes a series of horrific experiences in which she and her fellow “small-town girls” (Line 1) were abused by men. They locate one of the guilty men and begin to undergo a primal change. The man has a “New girl” (Line 18) who doesn’t yet realise she’s walked into a trap. When the man emerges, the speaker and the other girls attack him and rip him to pieces. After, the women become human again and share a cigarette.

Analysis

“Bitch Moon” opens by establishing the poem’s setting and premise: “a secret we small-town girls / don’t spill” (Lines 1-2). This line creates rhythm through the repeated S sounds and unity through the repeating Ts. This is followed by a colon which grammatically and visually separates this cohesive idea from the more violent and visceral imagery to follow. The third and fourth...