Harassment
This is a “Poem of the Day” feature piece
Do men think I build myself on the Unstable bricks Of their fantasies Mold my arms out of their desire Shape my legs in a way That moves them forward And roots me in place I must be pretty damn foolish Not to color my skin The way a man ought to like it See through and paper thin but In reality thick as hide So he can pierce me Sting me Rip me up when he don’t get his way Do they think I have bloodied my toes and fingers On the gritty mountain Of their sexual deviance in order to arrive at the peak Dripping wet with sorrow And man’s ideals? They must think I make home and hearth of forced Niceties and fake smiles Fixed in between rigid bones and fear for my life They scream at me on the street Demand I “thank you, sir” “Oh, I never!” For a few measly Compliments Like I never thought I was beautiful Before some nigga Screamed it at me on the street They must think I breathe catcalls Feed on their insults Thinly guised as romancing They prolly think I’m batshit crazy Like I oil my elbows and knees In the shit they spew The barked demands In packs of 2,3,4,and 5 Rinsing my face in all their needs Their words and shit
If niggas was ever wrong about one thing It was this This …me building myself up On what a few lame ass passerby’s think of me Got to say on me I can’t imagine why else They’d keep bothering me every where I go I assume They must wanna make me feel good Doin all this tellin me Bout my looks and my body Instead of leavin me The fuck alone Like I’d prefer To be
© Ama Akoto (2018)
Sorta in response to “i usedta live in the world” by Ntozake Shange/ Sorta in response to recent, rampant, daily harassment by men