Public Service Announcement
Gentlemen,
Do not fuck with a woman who walks alone
She’s not listening to music, she’s listening
to Jack Reacher novels. She’s listening
to the sound of cracking bones and splitting skulls,
and she’s loving it.
Ladies,
You have parts of your body that serve as weapons
Not your eyes, though they can cause misdirection
Not your breasts, though they can be a distraction
Not even your voice, though screaming
never hurts.
Use your fists, not like hammers,
but with a twist of shoulder and hip
Use your elbows like swift kicks
Use your knee
Exactly as you were meant to
Use your teeth if you have to.
But if they are dangerous, or you are overrun...
Use solemn breath
Remember
you are sheltered
in this body, like a temple, yet
you are not trapped here
Just because a thief slips in
just because he breaks things
doesn’t mean sacred light won’t still pour down.
You will be found.
And you will speak your truth.
Let the threats fuel you, or let them go
You can do both and still be a Goddess
When it’s through, pull the altar back up
relight the candles, and return to prayer
What hurts and where?
What do you need to throw away? What can you repair?
How will you reclaim this sacred place?
Remember
There is nothing that needs to be swept under, burned, or cut away
Woman is a creation of her own hands, and her grandmothers’
She is a sculpture built up, never chipped at
Not cold marble, but warm clay
You are whole,
and your womb?
The part of you that carries your own life?
She is intact, impenetrable
She didn’t feel a thing.
Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash