Hug Me, I'm Scared (But Not Too Tight)

There’s an ache in my heart

A tightness in my chest

A whisper in my ear

“Run.”

My feet can’t hit the ground fast enough

My lungs can’t process the flood of air

My ears can’t stop ringing

“Run!”

But sadly I can’t run across oceans

I can’t beat out the times

I can’t escape my body

“Stop.”

Time moves forward but minds do not-

They leap back in time

They leap forward, too.

“Stop!”

My mind was facing the future until today

When it became clear the future

Was actually the past.

“Help.”

The past that stole our agency

The past that made us less than nothing.

I remember it well.

“Me!”

I’m screaming internally while smiling politely

I’m laying back while they do what they want

Was I ever in control?

“Help.”

The men who own our bodies will never know

The pain of having your soul crushed

Cleaning blood with holy water.

“Me!”

It’s bad enough we are actually raped with little consequence

Must we be forced to pay a life sentence

For being born female?

“Why?”

And what of the children they are sworn to protect?

Surely they must be rejoicing

Playing in their shooting ranges

Dying in cages.

And what of the new mothers and the life they’re forced to carry?

Surely they will have access to free healthcare

To protect themselves and their child

In the land of the free?

Hug me, I’m scared- but not too tight

No one is safe here.