Being a woman is eating poison
Every
Day

Being a woman is swallowing the things you want to say
Because you talk too much
Because it's not your turn
Because you're not qualified
Because your problems are just “your problems”
And aren't worth addressing

Being a woman is a pain in your chest
As the things you didn't say
Eat away at your heart
And make you bitter
And hard

Being a woman is being told you're hopelessly unique
And nothing you think
Or do
Or feel
Is relevant to Real People

Being a woman is knowing that you're not Real People
And you never will be

Being a woman is a thousand little abuses
Honks and unwanted touches
Men who think they own you
And the sight of your skin is worth commenting on
Or the color your hair is
Or their attraction
Or lack thereof

Being a woman is constant, invisible vigilance
Because either you hide from the danger
Or you prepare yourself for the worst
Stay inside after dark
Or ball your fists and stand up straight
Because the women who relax
Are usually okay
But when they're not...

Being a woman is having no place to go
Because the spaces are already claimed
And you have no right to them

Being a woman is making yourself small
So you don't step on toes
And hurt feelings
And make a scene

Being a woman is to be endlessly accommodating
And never having an opinion
And never opening your mouth
Giving up the last piece of whatever
For the comfort of others

Being a woman is hating everything
And screaming in your own head
And holding it in
And feeling yourself burn up inside
From the bile that you want to unleash on the world

Being a woman is being a Banshee
Because a wail lives inside you
And it is strong
And it is terrifying
And the only thing you can do
Is to hold it in
To let it rip apart your insides
So you don't tear the world apart