i. appetizer
body of a child
grown ripe from the
lasciviousness of men
past their prime judgement
echoes of lies told
millennia ago when the
bristlecone pine was seedling
language symbolic yet still a female
could be taken against her will for the
deceitful pleasure of males, justification
lies in the fabrication of detail

ii. soup
how can she be adulterer and he
be innocent such logic has never
passed muster with me, man lies
with woman, she rises stained but
he remains clean? hoarding details of
escapades dared decades ago there are
pieces of her warped around this dim cave
slight glimmers ghosted into the hollows, this
mine not a steel trap but a muslin cloth light
weight and plain in weave

iii. salad
its just coffee, man takes a seat near window
open to be seen, date blind but armed she
enters friend at the ready, phone held steady there
are whistles and chimes dangling from limbs
adornment perfectly placed weapons just
in case just coffee goes
wrong

iv. main course
what would it be like if
women were human, not accessories
or prizes to be won but whole and
human with thoughts and motives all
their own, what if women were human
not prey for the hunt but actual breathing
fallible beings with dreams and desires placed
inside them by a power beyond them, what if
women were human and could live the entirety of
their lives never afraid of dark corners or walking
alone, what if women were human with opportunity and
checking accounts, their very own principals to
assess, what if women were human only doing what
they can with the best that they have

v. dessert/pudding
into the sunrise she stares
sleeves rolled elbow length she stands
ready for the wear, a traveler by trade
this long haul no minor feat, stepping
inside her cab he walks past she lifts herself
into place and readies herself for the day