Missing Womanhood
i don’t know how you can miss something that you didn’t want
how you can miss something that was assigned to you
to reinforce the same gender binary that was forced on your ancestors
forced on indigenous folx
i don’t know how you can miss something that doesn’t exist
a social construct
a performance art piece
a series of taught expectations & behaviors
how can you miss something that was never for you
never for your blackness
never for your queerness
maybe you miss the comfort
maybe you miss not having to explain the dip of your hips & the curve of your breasts
the ease of a body that is easy for assumption
easy for consumption
you know that you don’t miss the tightness of your throat when you have to correct your pronouns
they & them
don’t miss the drop in your gut when you have to explain your identity
Black, queer, non-binary, femme
but womanhood never fit you
you never wanted it to
so you’re not looking for it anymore
not aspiring to it anymore
it was never mine to have
never mine to miss
Written in response to the Winter Tangerine prompt below:
