listen,
when I found there was no safety
in my father's house
I knew there was none anywhere.
you are right about this,
how I nurtured my work
not my self, how I left the girl
wallowing in her own shame
and took on the flesh of my mother.
but listen,
the girl is rising in me,
not willing to be left to
the silent fingers in the dark,
and you are right,
she is asking for more than
most men are able to give,
but she means to have what she
has earned,
sweet sighs, safe houses,
hand she can trust.