"Why should I birth my oppressor?"
He listens, gnarled fingers ash and gold

I dare to be bold:
"I want to live."

Skin depresses, thermal joining a whispered invective:
"Stop talking."

Cloth shifts, the radio spits:
"I met a cheerleader, a real young bleeder-"

The bed creaks: I whisper:
Soundless, history unfolds.