how many ways can you draw a woman / before she dulls / to linework and smudge /
and the murky liquid / in the tub / grays /
tipsy white folks tell you / you should have
fear / khaf / miedo / when you walk
down your own street / and a catcall is
justification / for mass incarceration /
and for junking the princess in the closet /
in an acid bubble bath / riddle me this:
how many times can you call a woman
crazy / before she breaks the / cookie-cutters /
it’s spring / the kohl that protects your
heart / run to / tears of / a monster / a
princess / when the desserts give you
reflux / get caught with your hand in the
pickle jar / slam it / live on glass and
vinegar / how many times can a woman
flinch / before you throw her out with
the bathwater / brown women fear
many things / walking at night in zone 6 is
not one of them / smell / trash / something
burning on highland and boulevard / split
a cigarette with a bum / you don’t fear a
catcall / you don’t fear the men who think
they have power / you fear the ones who
do / the ones who could drag you away /
lock you up / dispose of the woman and
the key / the ones who puncture pipelines
and march children to die / the ones who
devastate nations / over a catcall and the
sickest beats / the ones who only care
about a dead girl in the alley if / it fits the
narrative / take a gold coin fashioned from
god / and second chances / how many gold
coins for the woman / how many gold coins
for a key //
Layla Maher is a writer from the deep South. Her creative writing has appeared in Maudlin House, Neologism Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. She is a 2020 Brain Mill Press National Poetry Month Shortlist poet. In her free time, Layla likes to read, hike, and seek the silver linings.