always said with venom
always intended to punish
“how dare you?!” it asked
insinuating that she was uppity
presumptuous
a ball breaker
to draw a circle around her body
loudly declare it ‘mine’
was she 12 the first time
she was called bitch?
or was it 16
when she tired of boys
of men
acting like her body was theirs
to look at
comment on
hold down
insult
touch
control?
tired of women
telling her to be
nice
quiet
polite
complacent
a ‘good’ sport
she was not a good sport
rage became a
knife
sharp
deadly
that she learned to yield
much too often
on her own flesh

© 2017 Revised 2019 Christine Elizabeth Ray – All Rights Reserved