My mother asks me to buy her milk and I stand in line at the grocery store.
I hold the milk bottle in both my hands afraid it would break like my heart did last night when I saw my maid's daughter, a 16 year old child,  breastfeeding her 1 year old son.
I felt sorry that when her culture sees a little girl playing with her dollhouse, it asks the little girl to be the doll
I felt sorry that when her culture sees a little girl fixing the ribbons over her braids, it thinks of ways to tie her legs as tightly as her hair,
I felt sorry that when her culture sees a little girl, it doesn’t see a little girl
but I did not voice my opinion because what I felt most sorry about was calling it her culture when I was born in the same city she was born in.
I see the line was moving while I stood still.
The woman standing behind me holding a jar of coffee, a pack of cigarettes, and a pair of tired shoulders gives me a look for not paying attention.
I take a step forwards,
I look behind me;
I smile politely at her, and say “I’m sorry”.

feminism fails
when it disregards
those of color

for we know that every dollar
a woman makes
a man makes more

we seem to disregard the bit
where a women of color
make even less
than their white counterparts

feminism needs to stop
excluding
disregarding
those impacted most
it's a hazard to progress

pull up a chair
scoot down the bench
it's time we serve up
intersectional feminism
for the table can hold more
there's plenty of progress to go around

Do not call me by your nicknames
I can see the poison dripping off your tongue
Do not touch me without consent
This body is mine and mine alone
Do not tell me to stay quiet
My words could spark a revolution
Do not try to control me
My power is unbridled and vicious
Do not mistake me for weak
I am a force to be reckoned with

I am not your pusher
I am not your *****

I will not stand aside
and hold the door

While you climb
and push me to the margins:
     • skip my footnote
     • ignore my humanity
     • take the credit
and more

I will not sit back
(hide my pain)
While you continue to
Slander my name
(steal my flame)

A desire for:
     •Equality
     •equity
     •fairness...
You fake.

My fire/my heart
Our creations/our art
**You take.