How dare you say I’m not that much
Poem
- Nichelle, 1995
How dare you say I’m not that much
Of a woman as you thought I was.
All I know is survival
I don’t know how to quit
I don’t know what it is like to give up
I’ve slept a many a night in darkness
Gone to bed hungry and cried
When I wasn’t hurting
I was beat on, beat down, and laid out
I was mentally molested, physically abused
And emotionally torn apart
By my father, my mother, my brother, my cousin,
My stepfather, my stepfather’s friend and
My boyfriends to a degree that you don’t
Want to know their names, and everyone
Else I don’t care to blame.
So when you see me, whether I’m
Walking high or sunk down low
You better damn well say
There goes a lady