This Body
I remember so well
when the world decided
that my flesh was no longer my own.
This skin and this spine
ceased to be mine,
all in favour of men ungrown.
As I stumbled and fumbled
my way through a time
that should have felt free and unknown,
I made light
of what I knew in my bones wasn’t right,
swallowing stories alone.
As if you would know what to do
with this body you have no right to.
Do you know who
this body belongs to?
I should intimidate the likes of you.
Pushing, performing
and powering through,
using humour to manoeuvre and mend;
twisting tales
to appease and derail,
learning it’s best to pretend;
Being less to impress,
meaning no, saying yes,
treating truth as though it couldn’t contend,
I found lies in the eyes
of so many lives,
promising love to lend.
As if you would know what to do
with this body you have no right to.
Do you know who
this body belongs to?
I should intimidate the likes of you.
Through talk and touch
and discovering how
to build boundaries through bitten lips,
I found solace
in wisdom of women,
who held me dear to their hips.
Now I stand staring back
at your apparent lack
of awareness in treasured scripts.
I feel for you
as you learn something new,
while this body performs an eclipse.
As if you would know what to do
with this body you have no right to.
Do you know who
this body belongs to?
I should intimidate the likes of you.
This body
knows how to
intimidate the likes of you.
This body
knows how to
intimidate the likes of you.
This body
knows how to
intimidate the likes of you.
This body
knows how to
intimidate the likes of you.