telling me
not all men
have
bad intentions
doesn’t do
anything to
reassure
me.
after i
walk away from you,
nothing will have
changed.
i will still
be scared to
leave my house
after sundown.
i will still
find comfort
in keys resting
between fingers,
i will still
question
the intentions of
every man i know
i will still
wonder
when i am
to become
a story
meant to warn
other people’s
daughters,
& i will still
cry when i turn on
the television
to find
yet
another man
getting away
with
well–
what they
always seem to
get away with.
i am not
the one who
has to change
the way i think
or the way i act.
they are.”
— Amanda Lovelace