Woman
When they ask,
do not tremble,
or quiver
do not move quickly
go quietly, inch by inch
summon the devil
use heat
a slight smile
curl your fist
bare your teeth
howl
you are a wolf
do not remove the mask
moan, caress, spread your legs
scream yes, scream it louder,
let him slap, shake, choke, bend, flip, break,
**** you
let him disown, disregard, intimidate, drown
you
become soft, sink into the earth,
let the ringworms feed on your carcass
you are bones now
you are dust now
you are a ghost of what was
merely a home for energy mishandled
you are adjectives spat onto you
and never deserving of
the world waited billions of years for you to form
to bring all your nothingness into the world and
make it a touch more
whole
only to watch you become a flower wilted,
overwatered,
plucked fresh,
ripe,
raw,
and discarded.