We Have Now

Being female already put me at a disadvantage

Back then I didn’t understand

it also made me a

target

For cruel words wanting me to mold perfectly

For people to tell me how to live in my body

For disgusting hands and unwanted actions

I was afraid to be female

Because it meant they felt entitled to me

To take without asking

To keep me beneath them

I was born with legs that stretched forward

And my heart pulls me out to sea

Because this homegrown soil feels dried thin

I’m fading away from this lackluster warmth

Losing the room to thrive inside

The longer I stay the more I thirst

For a life I didn’t want to think was impossible

Likes me a man that can cook