if you are a man
or a person
who still thinks women aren’t as capable
or as competent or intelligent
as men
tell me why every right men have been handed
women have had to fight for
while men did nothing but sit on their thrones of entitlement
and tell us we look pretty
we did not protest and yell and petition and fight and speak up no matter the cost
to be called pretty
don’t sell me your anti-wrinkle cream
your diet plan
your shapewear
sell me your CEO position
your equal pay
your paid maternity leave
we will not open our mouths to please you
while you tell us to shut them when it matters
i can, i will, and i am,
not despite being a woman
but because of it

there's no such thing as
"the one that got away"
he was gone the whole time,
a ghost floating through
my bedroom walls,
and the passenger's seat
of my beat up little car

there's no such thing as
"skeletons in the closet"
they're always clawing at my feet,
telling their stories through my teeth

there's no time that heals wounds,
ive been waking up in pools of sweat
and the hour glass on my dresser
is sick and tired of doing flips

there's no way around this,
i'm caught in circles
and i'm getting sick

he said
"everything will be okay"
and nothing was

he said
"everything will be okay"
and nothing is

how much can a person
swallow before they drown?

my lungs are swimming
laps around my body,

i swear
i'm coughing up
the sea...
i swear
i'm coughing up
what little is left of me...

and don't tell me
about the light at the end
of the tunnel
and don't tell me
about the rainbow
after the rain
when my thighs are aching
from sprinting in the dark
and i'm cold to my bones
from living soaking wet

i won't do this again tonight
i'll find a home in a stranger's town
i won't do this again tonight
i refuse to stick around