i am a prostitute and proud of it (1965)
mostly, you use your fists
i do not fight back
i don’t know how
instead i point at your face
and whisper your name
to remember my own
you don’t want me to die
i know but die i will
i can tell
wish my daddy was here
to carry me home
to safety
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underneath my floorboards
a friend breathes
underneath my floorboards
his heart beats
relentlessly
may not enter
into my locked space
wish i could have
beckoned him inside
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geraldine - part 2
as night falls over the remains
of days lost to decay
fear crystalizes on your breath
and you’re hollow from the outside in
so lay your heavy head
on your pillow soft
and remember the foxglove
thriving by the wayside
it blossoms in half light
even if unseen
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geraldine - part 3
my heart breaks
in all ways new
in all ways again
this is the gist of things
as i choose to live brave
for you
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tavi (1993)
the girl at the window
presses her fingertips
against the windowpane
she watches children play outside
wishing she could join in
her mouth form silent words
better left unspoken
as not to wake the shadow
sleeping in the other room
the children spot her, they wave
and she smiles, delighted
holding up her doll in greeting
an inanimate object
and only friend in her world
colored in shades of isolation
but the shadow stirs
behind the window
awakened by the
short moment of joy
and the children quiet
and watch as it creeps
into the room casting
an unlit halo over
her unkempt hair
and so they scatter and scamper
homebound to be fed at tables
heavy with thanksgiving
and full of belly rubs
they ask their mothers and fathers
about the girl at the window and why
she can’t she come out to play
and the uneasy glances
exchanged amongst cowards
teach them the fine art
of looking away
and then one day
no girl at the window
just a black car
outside a house
and a small body bag
even blacker
and a shadow
in cuffs
being dragged out
into the dim light of day
and all the good men and women
who turned a blind eye
congregate at her wake
hoping she rests in peace
for their own peace of mind
but there is no peace to
be found in indifference
and the god of innocence rages
and dares them to look away now
from the girl at their window
forever pressing her fingertips
against the windowpane
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diss track
fuck the way that you smirk
the way that you stare
and fuck the way that you strut
i can feel your fingers
encroaching on my space
and clenching on my waist
you think they’re welcome there?
so what is it
making you think
you’ll hit this?
is it the messy hair?
the baggy shirt?
the sneakers scuffed
by this city’s dirt?
cause I was told those deter
but that was just a lie i guess
fed to the everards of this world my guess
and we all know how that went down
bound / beaten / broken
didn’t know her place your guess
so you think can berate me?
call me a shrew, a slag, a slut?
cause i dared to say no to you?
fuck you and fuck your enablers too
yeah, they’re standing right beside you
it’s a compliment you know
you should be grateful you know
it’s no harm done you know
it’s just a joke you know
just suck it up
just swallow it down
just be a good girl now
and it will be over soon
think that’s what they’re going to say?
when it’s their sisters and daughters next?
with eyes bruised and lips split?
yeah, fuck you and fuck
your sense of entitlement too
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