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Danger skitters in, like a ghost—
tap.
tap.
soft soles on hard pavement—
every shadow a question,
every echo a warning.

I walk alone, flanked by fear,
adrenaline roaring,
my heart thundering in my ears.
One hand in my purse,
the other wrapped around cold metal keys,
eyes sweeping,
ears tuned to the night’s breath.

The shadows shift—
predators seeking prey,
hatred and hunger in their eyes,
searching for someone
to unleash it on.

This is survival in staccato steps—
not prey,
a lioness cloaked in silence,
not waiting,
but ready.

A woman.
On the edge.
After dark.
i watch you counting yourself out                                         
                    courting little pets of body-parts
putting pennies on the trinket shelf            
talking with wending wordage            
                 about those gruff fellows
who've been pig-holing    about your dwelling

that day  you manage a back window  
                                           and escape                            
masquerade yourself  as a gentleman
but they sniff at your aromas       
              these men in crude season
they circle you hinge-hipping
as you fleet the roads and fields                        
and evade  into the dappling woods
"come on out  we have you surrounded"                              
(you say  they say)
you stay  crossed legged   a monk among trees
(these pleasing defenders)                                

you take off your dress  and string it
            from one of these trees
you dole yourself out                        
little pets for the undergrowth

           you offer a curled shrew
from the space   your kneecap once
                          occupied

you droop your warm left breast
and drop a beast from that cove
(a plump vole clambers  fresh and
                        disorientated)

you plug one arm into loose soil
                   and the fingers snake root
separation at the elbow                
              and branches sprig out

both your thighs   animate as fox cubs
your ***** leaves from between                  
                         and slinks under some ivy

your hair fiddles loose and travels off
in currents of breeze
before flitting into little finches

your back crumples with fungal looseness
your head weighs low                              
             and the jaw lumps off
shuffling   undecided on its form

your forehead bows  to kiss the earth
and your face scatters  a gaiety of insects  and spores

                  all arts patterned about
your pile continues   in this mattering manner
collapsing efficiently    
you've canonized in nature                    
now you’re abroad  mature and freed          
to tell your friend this story
a spirit  without brag of these neat powers
one with mother glory
ORIGINAL
i watch you counting yourself/putting pennies on the shelf/talking with wending/about those gruff fellows /who've been pig-holing about your dwelling/who circle you hinge-hipping /when you fleet the roads and fields/and INTO THE WOODS
to be a woman is to perform
to learn to dress for men,
to perform for the male gaze
to be asked by aunts,
“when am i going to get grandchildren?”
and to be told by uncles
that ive grown in all the right places
im not even able to look at the clothes
that hot hands had burnt through
touching, feeling, squeezing
remembering their hands on me
i don't want revenge,
i just want to take a shower
his lips curl into a whistle as i walk the street
“looking good, baby”
im wearing sweats and a hoodie
“smile more!”
make me laugh.
i don't feel like it right now, i say
“it'll be quick, please” he replies back
and i'm left feeling disgusted the next day
maybe i'll take another shower.
scrolling on my phone, a cute video of a little girl
I go to check the comments
“game is game”
“if she can bleed she can breed”
i close my phone, scared what this world has come to
my friend tells a story about how she got *****
and crazy enough, we all relate
and with girls we've never even met before
bonding over our **** cases
“don’t sit like that,” says my grandmother
“it's not lady-like.”
it doesn't matter how far i slouch in my seat
how much i manspread
even if its not lady-like, he’ll do it anyways
because he takes ******* as an invitation
even from a young girl
who doesn't even know how to count all the way to fifty
“dont tell your parents– it's our secret”
hands cover my mouth as i tell myself it's normal
this is what family does, what men do
and suddenly i'm too afraid to look at my own father
i talk to a guy, he's funny
and then he makes a **** joke
i thought you were one of the good ones
foolish
i live each day in fear
is it safe to walk out?
no, we can't live there
the ****** assault cases are high.
when will we ever be free?
when will women be equal to men
and not just equal to pleasure?
filled with rage, i remind myself
i cannot do anything.
because
to be a woman is to perform
Antonia May 8
are you ready?
who cares
you’ll never be

just come,
remember
how great it feels to be
you
in your skin
in your energy
feel it all

stop running girl!
there is no final destination.
you are already home.

go clean up that mind
throw away those limiting beliefs
try on your values
do they still fit?
the person you’re becoming?
the ever shifting shape

they don’t?
that’s great!
throw them away!
reevaluate your inner wardrobe ladies and gentlemen,
we don’t have to keep anything that doesn’t fit anymore!
Mariah Apr 28
In the shower shaving
When I can't help but ponder
Back in the 12th century
People would **** each other
Just to sneak a holy peak
At the unchanged physique
Meet me in the brush
souletry Apr 22
I am an assertive being.
destructive.
mortal.
Extremely impulsive with frenzied thoughts.
I am a woman with affection that only exists
inside of my bones.
lethal.
This affection confused as violence.
frenetic.
I do not express it with lip stains on envelopes or heart shaped doodles on letters.
It’s a demonstration of my eyes piercing into yours.
Willingly suffocating in the thought of you.
Repeatedly carving your existence in my head.
This planet will come for me and continue to spin
but here he is, a mosaic of my memory.
A love that tears me to shreds.
strips me bare.
I am in my purest form when I’m with you.
this is overdue I’m sorry baby
Widad Apr 17
I wear lace like armor, heels like blades,
Lip gloss sharper than your daddy’s blades.
I twirl in silk, then break your pride,
A sugar-coated storm you can't survive.
You wanted soft? I’m softly cruel,
Bat my lashes while I bend the rules.
You prayed for a princess? Oops, I’m the queen,
With a pink smile hiding something mean.
You say I’m “sweet”?
Then why are you scared to sleep?
I haunt your mind in perfume and pearls,
A girly goddess wrecking worlds.
I'm the nightmare in satin and glitter,
The pink poison that makes you bitter.
A dainty danger with diamond claws,
Dancing pretty while I break your laws.
My body’s a temple, my stare’s a spell,
I'm heaven and a touch of hell.
Celestial bodies dress in pink—
We’re everything you fear to think.
I sip champagne while I watch you squirm,
Smile so sweet while I make you burn.
Twirling through chaos in ballet shoes,
This Barbie bites—and you will lose.
I laugh like wind chimes, cut like knives,
Your fragile ego won’t survive.
You thought I was sugar, soft and small?
Darling, I’m the one who ends it all.
You wanted nice? You wanted tame?
But I’m the spark you couldn’t name.
Wrapped in pink, I run the game,
A girly flame you’ll never tame.
I'm the nightmare in satin and glitter,
The pink poison that makes you bitter.
A dainty danger with diamond claws,
Dancing pretty while I break your laws.
My body’s a temple, my stare’s a spell,
I'm heaven and a touch of hell.
Celestial bodies dress in pink—
We’re everything you fear to think.
Donald Trump thinks he’s bold and rich,
But he’s just a scared, misogynist glitch.
Spray-tan clown in a suit too tight,
Cried “fake news” ‘cause truth burns bright.
He built his name on girls' disgrace,
While hiding fear behind his orange face.
Talked like a king, ruled like a joke—
Guess what, Donnie? The throne just broke.
He mocked our rights, laughed at our tears,
But we’ve been rising for centuries, dear.
Your walls? We crush them.
Your lies? We hush them.
Your era’s over, pack your ties—
This is HERstory, and we cut ties.
Megan Apr 13
She said to look away
From the body that made me
So, while I'm here broken & ******                                                           ­                     
                                                                ­                                              
Mascara smeared; she still looks pretty                                                           ­ 
                                                               ­                                                     
Even with that smile in her eyes                                                            
­                                                                 ­                                                
  That ***** is the devil in disguise                                                         ­         
                                                       ­                                                               
She took my love & my pride                                                            ­                      
                                          ­                                                                 ­         
Now every day, I die inside                                                           ­               
                                                 ­                                                                 ­
Puffy faced & pouting mouth                                                            ­              
                                                                ­                                                      
She shows you what love's about                                                            ­
                                                                ­                                                  
She was a habit you couldn't quit                                                            
­                                                                 ­                                                   
  It was me you chose to forget
For all the other women out there.
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