untitled

For A_____

i don’t know what it’s like
to walk on the streets unarmored
to be gouged all over
by the bayonets of stares
to march under blitzkriege
spat from lips in stealthy hisses
      and plosive mutters
(lesbian!) (butch!)
i wonder how you’d walked thus far
with a back so straight
and a head held high
when every step is a step
on a minefield of ignorance and bigotry
even if i can’t see your wounds and scars
you can’t be unscathed
and when you vow to be rich and powerful

so they won’t just see a lesbian
they’ll see a successful and authoritative person
but who is still only human
still only human

even though i don’t see them in your eyes
i can hear the tears in your voice
you are already more powerful
than you think you are