Privileges

Some can say
“I don’t
Want to
hear it,
See it,
be reminded,
Think about things outside
Of my control”,
“I am comfortable here”,
In ignorant complacency,
Not thinking from another’s point of view,
“This is my space”,
Of chosen apathy,
“I can sugar coat,
Pick and choose
what I subject my mind to”,
Some can forget,
Can remain ignorant,
Can be the fish that swim
Never aware that there is water,
That is their privilege at play,
But I cannot
Remain blind,
My multiple identities remind me every day,
And being aware is my burden,
And I know
I have privileges too,
But I count being awake
As one of them

Alabama Shame

We will shame you
From youth,
For what your body can do,
For the red,
For the sin that someone’s God condemned some woman for,
For the legs you sprout,
For the breasts you grow,
Shame,
Shame for the urges,
No matter how natural,
Shame for conceiving
–Analyzing how, when and why,
Shame when you can,
Shame when you can’t,
Shame for a body everyone seems to have their say in,
Their say inside of,
Shame and sin,
Judgement being bestowed,
By laymen
–Everyone has an opinion,
About your body,
Because political the personal has always been,
Your blood is shed and everyone else claims your pain,
Whether you birth,
Or need other arrangements made,
And your rights are not your own,
For they can,
And will be taken away