Welcome, and a warm first hello to the newcomers!
I’m so happy you’re here.
The story of this poem: In my day job, I manage a group of folks in their early twenties, and being around them often reminds me of moments from my own youth. I spend a lot of time encouraging them to think for themselves and to make fact-based decisions, two concepts that were not presented to me until later than I would have wished.
MAGAZINES I’m 14, And I want to run away from home, But it’s the year 2000, And my YM magazine and my mother’s Woman’s World Each tell me some version of the same: Keep your body covered, and safely inside. Venture out past the door, And a man will surely find you, Coerce you, Exploit you, Destroy you. (Also, here are some diet tips to stay looking fit. For whom? Don’t worry about it.) At this point, I’m 14, And everyone treats me Like they deserve a piece. Folks around me are invested in my not learning how to find release. I have parents who think highly of obedience. Four more years meant nothing presidential in my mind: That was just my countdown to free.
Need something to look forward to? Why not some book mail?
Click here to pre-order my upcoming chapbook, Shake the House, shipping July 1! Only $4.99 for a slim volume of sonnets that expand and continue the story that began in Give It A Home, the debut print release from Lizzy Co.
