Submissions by tbutterfly12 (Talitha Rae)

I had learned to hold my breath when times got bad

And I had learned that if I cried, you would get mad

When I was fifteen, and it was someone else’s hands…

I couldn’t scream because you told me not to, Dad

I couldn’t speak because you taught me not to, Dad


You don’t have to worry ‘cause they won’t believe me

They won’t defend me

You’re getting off easy

It’s not a secret, but it’s safe

I’m carrying the weight


If my body belonged to you because you fed me, I would have...

If you are the polish on my fingernails, please know you're chipping
If you are the split ends of my hair, please know I'm trimming
If you are the tears on my cheekbones, please know I am wiping them away now
If you are a memory, please know I am forgetting
You

Our daddies are
Men pumping gas at Shell or Exxon
The mailman leaving letters
In the rain
Did you
Leave something else in the rain
Seventeen years ago
Men
Working for FedEx or UPS
Dropping off the greatest
Deliveries
Were you there for my delivery
Typing letters and fielding
Questions
In large offices
Shouting “Objection”
And
“Answer the question, sir”
Did you or did you not
Leave that baby
Fatherless
Do you plead guilty
Or was it by reason of insanity
Men
Racing in light-up cars
Locking hands...