less than 100 feet north
from the center of the walkway
leading to the art museum
to a nearby grove of palms

where her white skirt
famously flares high over
the heads of thousands
who come to see her

in a desert town where
people have for years
protested her gigantic
presence as sexist, tacky,

not art. But goofy tourists
come by the tens of thousands
to look at the undercarriage
of the 26-foot-tall Marilyn—

seen by some as a perversity,
by others as a fond tribute
to a mid-century feminist
icon or abused sex symbol.

Or both. She’s kitschy in
her immensity, far prettier
in photos. But still, she soars,
her blonde head visible

to birds in flight and planes
taking off, her chin up,
forever smiling more than
six decades after this

“small girl in a big world”
left it, as she said,
“trying to find someone
to love.”

•••

“Forever Marilyn,” the Marilyn Monroe statue in Palm Springs, stands 26 feet tall and weighs 15 tons. It was created in 2011 by Seward Johnson and temporarily installed in Palm Springs from 2012–2014, where it became a popular landmark. It was reintroduced in 2021 but was controversial for many reasons, not least that it blocked direct access to the Palm Springs Art Museum. It was moved in February 2025 to its nearby location in Downtown Park.