Poem by Rebecca Took // Photograph by Alina Autumn
Poem by Rebecca Took // Photograph by Alina Autumn
The trial begins at birth.
Checked, legs spread. Examined.
Mother and babe same violation.
‘Female sexuality’ is meant to be
an untruth, a misuse of our fertility;
masquerading as virility.
Lying female nude. We’re rude
if we voice an opinion; too often
our thoughts are met with derision.
Body hair and blood ‘down there’
mocked, as if our natures were
our own decisions.
We’re told to shut up, but
when we do, we’re stuck up.
Born performers, our emotions
Are performance for an audience
that believes the world revolves
around their axis.
To cry would be heinous,
be devious. We’re taught
to tighten and taughten
Any wobbles symptoms of hysteria.
We’re the witches that escaped
the burnings, drownings.
But relentlessly, we float.
