better than this one by Linda M. Crate
Updated: Jan 4, 2019
i still remember as if it were yesterday, every bead of sweat even! of how i refused to even want a kiss but you forced me to kiss you thrice; you insisted we would "do it" if the video game wouldn't work and i never prayed so hard for technology not to fail me but it did—and you tried to force yourself on me despite the fact i said no, and though you were stronger in a surge of adrenaline rush i was able to push you away; and i was never so relieved to be leaving somewhere—the safety of my mother's car protected me from the boy who stood in his room in his underwear, and i was never so glad to be gone; my heart was still beating like a drum in my chest—we were both kids, but somehow it was okay for you to disrespect me; somehow it was okay for you to ignore the fact that i said no—it is no different today in this world, and i have to wonder why? women matter; this is our war and our horror and our despair: people only see us for our bodies and the preconceived notions of beauty—they don't see our hearts, our ambitions, our creativity, our dreams, our value, our divinity, our magic, or our power; and that is their mistake because we are an unstoppable force.
Linda M. Crate's works have been published in numerous anthologies and magazines both online and in print. She is the author of five published books of poetry, a micro-chap, and the novel Phoenix Tears (Czykmate Books). Her guilty pleasure is ice cream and cookies although she'll never turn down any dessert unless it contains mint.