you ask me why so angry, i ask
how can you not be?
is the injustice so intrinsic in this system that you can’t see
my body bound with blame
and my mouth muzzled with shame

when i win, you hide my worth
afraid other women could see theirs and follow me
when i am in pain, i cannot heal
because the ripples in my system were just headaches to you
the tidal waves in my body are not practical
not simple.
so you make them irrelevant
if i’m ambitious to change, you snuff out my dreams
with the crushing weight of those who failed before me.

are you so afraid of the change i could bring?

you don’t want me to point at the flaws you’re so perfectly comfortable with.
so, instead, you make me swallow my voice in rage and frustration
yet you’re so focused on your own stagnation
that you forget: i’m not you.

i can change and i can shapeshift
till i’m free of your shackles
i can scream my rage at the mountain you built
until somewhere
a pebble starts rolling.

- landslide