Incumbency

“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” – Audre Lorde

What luxury
what luxury     one has to be able
to be oneself.

What serenity
to fall asleep at night as one spirit and
wake up                           
face
the            day
the           office meeting
the           streets

as that same sage who tucked herself into bed             just hours prior

and not
as some disciplinarian choking her tongue                  just to get on with the day.

What can we do to
break      free
from
these men and
their     collective gaze?

No –
what more can we do,
without losing our spines        and our voices?

Oh –
and for those of us
who are nearing the end of      days sacrificed
what more can we do
for those who will out-breathe us

for those               “little things”

becoming
our daughters?

[© 2019 Sarah E. // published in The Menstrual May 2019]