break up
presumptuous, neglectful, manipulative fool
but you are also built, sweet, one of my people
you should have been more righteous, redemptive, godly in the house of love
but instead you were that for yourself.
cultural theorist bell hooks says “to heal the gender war rooted in struggles for power, women and men choose to make mutuality the basis of their bond, ensuring that each person’s growth matters and is nurtured.”
i am one of your people, you would call a such man “brother” and such a women “sister”. being your sister, if i also happen to be your lover, i should have been more like a goddess. Not
someone who is expected to make time and drop things for you. Not
someone who is expected to approach time only your way. Not
someone who will follow you and your tenure track position.
i feel like a fool to have ignored the signs
but i liked you so much - it was worth the risk
but you have a long way to go before you are ready to represent our struggles and lift me out with you, let alone all of us
and i am not going to expend my youth teaching you
instead i want to dive into the concave valley that light fills up like a bowl
and as anis mojgani says “rock it like you’ve got an empty appointment book and a full tank of gas” (Anis Mojgani at The Seattle Grand Slam 2006)
of art, meeting people and getting a place setting at someone’s heart
and have what i want even though it don’t come from handsome you
Last 5 posts by Jenny Zhang
- what's in there? - March 5th, 2008
- moment - February 21st, 2008
- edge - February 19th, 2008
- outside window sounds like summer - February 15th, 2008
- roof lines - February 15th, 2008
this reminds me of the one (sometimes more) mary j blige song on every album that starts out with mary down in the depths of despair at the hands of some man or the other, wherein she goes through a journey of self discovery and claws her way out of the whole both vocally and lyrically to emerge a stronger, smarter, better(bitter?) woman. those are my favorites on her albums. also i dont think you need to identify bell hooks as a cultural theorist. if people dont know who she is, then they can google it.