an ode to the used

I wrote a poem, cus sometimes a poem is the framework.

I came in Black and woman and wanting 
which is three too many things 
for a Tuesday
and I learned early 
that being this 
costs more than I was given at the start

there is enough 
extraction, erasure, holy expectation 
in any given institution on any given day 
to hollow out a woman completely 
and call it 
opportunity
and enough 
of me to exhaust everybody 
and I have.

I got it out the mud and came up filthy

beware the woman who survived 
she has learned things about herself 
she did not want to know
beware the allies 
beware the sponsors 
beware those who cite your name in the footnote 
and take the podium
beware what you become 
in order to become anything

I am so tired of being something that has to be reckoned with
the one who keeps showing up 
the one who explains 
the one who makes herself smaller and harder and quieter 
and still 
took up too much room

and when I say I’m not built for this
our forgetting will be perfect

like a policy 
like a performance review 
like a picture 

that’s enough bullshit for one day

FURTHER READING

© Soulwork is a labor of love and a lot of late nights in the archives. If this work added value to your week, you can Buy Me A Book here.