Map

When did contraceptive

go into labor and reproduce

“complicated” and “controversial”?

When did the period in which

I bled so nobly

become a longing ache

where there was nothing

to begin with?

You don’t have to know

to know.

Understanding another’s suffering

is no more righteous

or noble

than returning fallen money.

People just need to be conscious people

which somehow got separated from “human”

like how justice and law are a bit

estranged

and how polite and negligent

started sleeping with each other.

The relationships in our heads

are no relationships at all.

They are broken and skewed and biased and

unplugged.

So when I say “I am a woman”,

the linguistic GPS that navigates my tongue

often forgets to flex “person”.

And then all the adjectives-

strong,

complex,

frustrated,

observant,

struggling,

smart…

They are left

stranded.