"overloads" poems - Hello Poetry

It's 3:09am I'm im the library Desperately trying to write a research paper: 'LGBT Familes' How fitting. Caffeine courses through my veins Coffee overloads my bladder Bathroom. I hate bathrooms. When you have no gender The simple act of relieving yourself becomes a chore The heavy weight of that key decision Chokes your lungs as you stand outside the doors Two doors. Men. Women. Not me. The choice becomes simplified: While I sometimes pass as a man I often do not. I can choose the men's bathroom The consequence of which could end in physical violence The same hate I explain through my essay. The same fear that plagues my community. The women's restroom is also an option The consequences likely less dire than the former: Heavy side eye and the potential of yelling. A much safer choice. Obviously. Per usual, I walk into the women's room. I take three strides inside. Then I stop. I've never used the men's room. My fear of violent reactions has always won. Yet at a time like this How likely is it that someone is inside the men's room? Now is my chance to face my fears. Now I have a safe chance at peeing in peace. In a bathroom potentially more suiting Of my gender identity So I turn around. Let the door slam behind me. Half a step into the men's room The smell of rancid ***** hits my senses Toilet paper liters the stalls I have missed absolutely nothing in my years in the women's room Women have nicer facilities A significantly more advanced hand dryer Cleanliness Air freshener Men do not have these luxuries Now I question, Do men not take as good of care of their bathrooms as women do? Do the workers intentionally prioritize women's sanitation? What causes this undeniable divide? Is the messiness of the men's room a result of their conscious decisions? Or simply a response to societal expectation? Regardless, I think I'll stick to the women's room While I add bathrooms to my compilation Of more discrete gender inequality

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Oct 31, 2017

Oct 31, 2017 at 2:23 PM UTC

Nicol-g

My First Time Using the Men's Bathroom

It's 3:09am I'm im the library Desperately trying to write a research paper: 'LGBT Familes' How fitting. Caffeine courses through my veins Coffee overloads my bladder Bathroom. I hate bathrooms. When you have no gender The simple act of relieving yourself becomes a chore The heavy weight of that key decision Chokes your lungs as you stand outside the doors Two doors. Men. Women. Not me. The choice becomes simplified: While I sometimes pass as a man I often do not. I can choose the men's bathroom The consequence of which could end in physical violence The same hate I explain through my essay. The same fear that plagues my community. The women's restroom is also an option The consequences likely less dire than the former: Heavy side eye and the potential of yelling. A much safer choice. Obviously. Per usual, I walk into the women's room. I take three strides inside. Then I stop. I've never used the men's room. My fear of violent reactions has always won. Yet at a time like this How likely is it that someone is inside the men's room? Now is my chance to face my fears. Now I have a safe chance at peeing in peace. In a bathroom potentially more suiting Of my gender identity So I turn around. Let the door slam behind me. Half a step into the men's room The smell of rancid ***** hits my senses Toilet paper liters the stalls I have missed absolutely nothing in my years in the women's room Women have nicer facilities A significantly more advanced hand dryer Cleanliness Air freshener Men do not have these luxuries Now I question, Do men not take as good of care of their bathrooms as women do? Do the workers intentionally prioritize women's sanitation? What causes this undeniable divide? Is the messiness of the men's room a result of their conscious decisions? Or simply a response to societal expectation? Regardless, I think I'll stick to the women's room While I add bathrooms to my compilation Of more discrete gender inequality