maelynslavik

My grandmother never cut flowers with scissors, raised her nonexistent eyebrows plucked beyond all veins of recognition, blinked one eye fishlike & said a knife was all she needed.

When magnets are placed the right way

They connect

When they're placed the wrong way

They use everything in their power to stay away

From each other

They resist

With a force

We'll march with cardboard signs

rainbow letters pretend

that we're happier than we are 

because we understand

the depth of this hole we've dug ourselves

into

the fire we've fed 

As girls we’re taught many things at a young age. 

We’re taught what’s considered “ladylike,” and what’s not, 

Keeping us in line to better fit society's mold.

I hold my prefrontal cortex with the shame of

sinking, water lilies seeping from my lips into the grey-green

marsh I call (uselessly) 

home.

My mind hisses with the strain of too many canned-up voices

saying

…