Dead Reckoning

Blue collar north
Welcomes collarless east
Prodigal daughter home
And I'm still
Younger than her
Even though she's
Forever in stasis
Trapped under tracks
And I'm still
Walking her path
To the station
And the streets have a rhythm
Red brick, blonde brick
Red brick, blonde brick
Blonde brick, red brick
Basket range
And I'm still looking
For her footprints 
In the scrub
Still catch myself
Checking for her shadow
In the blue collar north

Sixty Nine Women

Every day
Another one gone
Relentless
And how do we cope
Do we keep on
Keeping on
Blinkered
Shrinking into silence
Or do we rise up
Clothe ourselves in black Latin mourning
And mute the guilty with a warning
How do we answer
The call to arms
Do we raise a white flag
Or do we cry battle

Rights & Reservations

I reserve the right to remain silent
I reserve the right not to respond to you in the streets
I reserve the right to deny you my flesh between the sheets
I reserve the right not to wear a bra
The right the display every scar you saw fit to give me
Every bruise and broken bone I had to live with
I reserve the right to remain silent

Furious

Rage sustains
This incorrect
Woman/beast/ghost
Caught between
Smiling and cutting
With razor tongue
With blade fingers
With whip teeth
Rage makes room
For incorrect
Love/lust/longing
Caught between
Friendship and fetish
With mother ears
With father hands
With sister feet
Rage sustains

Human

Are cruel men
The price I pay
For being ugly?

Last Night

The only thing
I'll beg you for
Is your pardon
I am not accustomed
To being treated
As if I might
Not be as ugly
As I know I am
So forgive me

Blisters

Once a pebble
In their shoe
Begging for just
A blister
Just a bit
Of attention
Made smaller
With each step
Kept under heels
Stuck between toes
Hidden and forgotten
Now rock solid
Fully formed
Unapologetically
Alone until
Until
Until
I am held
In regard
Respect
Instead of in
Contempt