By Sehinne Yohannes
I do not wish to be shield
in a world where
my counterparts are sharpened into sword
I want my girlhood to be knifelike
for pointed teeth and tongue
for lips that were trained for love poems,
for-giveness,
to talk nothing but shit
and not because these are a man’s domain
but if my body can make the blade
that will stab me in my back
then my feminine deserves a fight
for I’ve been compressed enough
overstressed enough
silk pressed enough
high heels and blazers, white dressed enough
and my feminine deserves a fight
I’ve been lipsticked enough
needle pricked enough
body politicked enough
starved until I’m stick enough
and my feminine deserves a fight
I’ve been taken advantage enough
given more than I could manage enough
been the victim left to deal with the damage enough
and my feminine deserves a fight
keep your oversexualization
your stigmatization
your ignorant comments from your miseducation
I want
my sisters to be safe
to walk free in any place
to be seen for more than my gender or race
because my feminine deserves a fight
I want
to be heard and believed
to be seen and not perceived
to no longer be deceived
because my feminine deserves a fight
I want
no more names to be screamed
no more funerals livestreamed
a good life to be real and not just dream
because my feminine deserves a fight
my feminine deserves a fight
my feminine deserves a fight
my feminine deserves a fight
my feminine deserves a fight
my feminine deserves a fight!
