I listen to Ani DiFranco  
When I want to be inspired
She fills my tortured soul
With lyrical fire

I listen to Ani DiFranco
When I want to hear wisdom
Any given song
Is a musical politics lesson

I listen to Ani DiFranco
When I want to be inspired
She fills my poetic soul
With lyrical fire

I don't hate men
No, not at all

I am simply aware
Of what they are capable of

I don't hate men
That would not be fair

But neither is the act
Of *** without consent

When I was eleven
My teacher asked me a question

What do you want to be when you grow up ?

I said,
I want to be a poet
I want to create words out of nothing

I was already a poet
I did not realise
That I had always been

You begged me to stay
So I stayed

You begged me to change
So I changed

You begged me to smile
So I smiled

If I beg you to die
Will you die?

I don't want to win
I want to live
In a world where winning doesn't matter

What is this competition
That I did not sign up for?

I don't want to win
I want to live
In a world where winning doesn't matter

Let me tell you a story
Of a poet who forget her words
To tell you that this was debilitating
Would
Be
An
Absolute

U
N
D
E
R
S
T
A
T
E
M
E
N
T

I saw myself today
It was a startling sight
It takes bravery to look one in the eye

I've spent years rewiring a brain
Trained to believe it was ugly
So to see me as utterly beautiful

Was progress like I've never seen