i didn’t know how to measure my worth,
and it led me to someone who measured his worth
in attention from her, and also her, and her…
and any other her to hurt me

he thought there was power in possession and pain,
and that a man’s kingdom should be built
on the stepping of her back and the forfeit of her crown

so i forfeited. and i faded. but i’m learning things…

like how real lovers don’t come in numbers. they aren’t prisoners.
they’re not meant to be suffocated, or left for granted…
and how i’m full enough of wonder to hold someone’s attention,
that my full voice matters,
my full-bodied existence is beautiful,
and that a man on the strong side of oppression isn’t
the same thing as a man who is strong.

– butterflies rising