I am not the hottest looking bitch in this place
I am not one skank ass loose lip bitch
I am not here to take your shit
and I am not about to stand still for being called
bitch.
I will not dress to please you
smile to please you
go slack jawed stupid time airhead easy breeze to please you,
I will not deny my body
I will not deny my appetite
I will not deny my comfort
I will not deny anything except your entitlement you are so used to,
that you don't even know it's there
that you think is just normal business as usual
I will not play that
perpetuate that
suck up to that
just so your dumb ass won't think that I'm a
bitch.
Look at the crap that comes out of your mouth,
all the
bitch
nigger
fag
dyke
ho
that comes out of your cake hole,
all the
you are not the same
you are not worth respecting
you are not even human
crap that comes out of your face,
that allows you to not care
That allows you to beat and mistreat
that allows you to kill and brag and turn yourself to stone.
head heart skin fingers soul of stone.
I am not your bitch!
Look at all the poisoned puke from the pulpit
all the vile, excluding, tiny-minded, pseudo-holy
god in the image of man
that's spewed out by smiling
clean cut
barbie blonde
well dressed
tenth tithing
bigots cherry picking their bibles
for something to justify
their fear
their hate
their spiritual laziness
and all the righteous boil drain that says
you are not the same
you are not worth respecting
you are not even human.
I am not your bitch!
I will not change myself to please you, because
I am not your bitch.
I will not dumb it down, because
I am not your bitch.
I will love whomever I feel love for, because
I am not your bitch.
I will say "vagina" in a public place
on tv
in front of Congress
in front of God
I will say it
scream it
whisper it
and I will not be shy, because
I am not your bitch.
I will not be silent
I will not be obedient
I will not watch your gone-stupid summer blockbuster
unless there are two women, with names, who talk to each other in it
about something besides a man.*
I will not send my son to be fodder in your war
I will not sacrifice my child's life in order to spread testosterone around the world,
because I am a mother,
and I am definitely not your bitch.
I am a lesbian,
and I am so not your bitch.
I am a Catholic woman and will call down the saints
to drag pedophiles out into the streets,
and to put a woman in the Vatican,
the White House,
the coffee house,
the whore house,
the big house,
every house,
BECAUSE WE ARE NOT YOUR BITCH!
We are flesh and blood,
heart and soul,
the keepers of the next generation--
they will not be your bitch.
With time, they will change the whole vocabulary of the world,
and you will join them,
or be left behind, irrelevant, cursing unheard against the wind.
_______
* the Bechdel movie test
A Howl for the Real Toads mini challenge.
Yes, yes, yes!
ReplyDeleteSoooo, I guess this rules out you being my bitch???
ReplyDeleteSorry, could not resist. Very well said!!!
Wow! You have said for all of us!! Great job!!
ReplyDeleteA righteous, riotous rant to shut the gobs of every bigot ever born, one hopes--but they tend to be resistant to reality. I for one am glad that you, and I, and all the rest of us V-people ain't nobody's bitch no more.
ReplyDeleteYeah, what you said!
ReplyDeleteFlash 55 - prick lee
Unbelievable ... I would love to see you on stage reciting this for the world to hear!
ReplyDeleteGo, girl! I was ready to take to the streets after reading that! Whew...just kept on rolling. Lots to spew out...all that injustice. Great job!
ReplyDelete"bigots cherry picking their bibles
ReplyDeletefor something to justify
their fear
their hate
their spiritual laziness"
and that ending stanza ... is a warning and a promise. I somehow NEW you would nail this challenge.
But why don't you tell us how you really feel?
ReplyDeleteThis is a tremendous out-poring of rage against a culture which has demeaned women in general and homosexual women in particular for thousands of years. I'm grateful to be living through times of rapid change, especially in legislation, with regards to attaining real equal rights for all. But I have yet to see that spill over into the collective consciousness: prejudice is still inculcated in the very mind-set of generations of human beings, too ignorant or scared to understand how they perpetuate the myths of sinfulness from behind their barricades of bigotry.
Applause, applause, applause!!!
ReplyDeleteI echo what Helen said...can see you on stage pronouncing this!
Love the part about the bible toting, testosterone promoting...
Well said, my friend!
Brava! Speak your truth from the rooftop. It's all women's truth and I share your outrage. It's magnificent.
ReplyDeleteYou said it for all of us. And said it well. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteRawr!! This definitely a howl! Some great lines in there too.
ReplyDeleteyeah!!! i too want to hear you reading/reciting/howling this one.
ReplyDeleteyou got that SOOOOOOO right!!!
ReplyDeleteas we used to say back in the day ~
right on!!!
♥
Well done.
ReplyDeleteYikes! I'm ducking and running for cover, Shay! :)
ReplyDeleteBest rant EVER! I love this! Thanks for writing it.
ReplyDeleteWow did you rant, let it go girl
ReplyDeleteShay, way to nail it to the door of the freakin' church, like Martin Luther. The "boil drain" was the best, just all pus and gore and blood. This is a visceral, important work and you should take it to a slam and read it the way I hear you in my mind. Or mp3 it and put it at virtualpoetryreading.com, or add a page to your blog with you reading your stuff. I'm nobody's bitch either, unless I choose to be my own, and that's usually in a politician's office or on the phone with Blue Cross Blue Shieldtheirassesfrompayingclaims
ReplyDeleteROCK ON! Amy
So, Shay, tell me, do you ever let anything get to you?
ReplyDeleteOh, you are amazing, my dear. This is a rant to end all rants, and you'd have been a hellluva hit in the coffee houses of the 50s.
Allen Ginsberg would have been SO proud to know you.
K
Powerful, Shay...meaningful rant and I love this, "head heart skin fingers soul of stone," yup. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteWow. I have been babysitting for three days and missing all the fun. Glad I didnt miss this. Yes, you NEED to read this aloud somewhere at an open mic. Have someone videotape it and post it so we can all really experience it. Wowzers. I think I am inspired to write a rant now.
ReplyDeletePreach it, sista!
ReplyDeleteYou are a Lesbian?
ReplyDeleteThat's Hot!!
(But not the hottest chick in the place)
((But you are in the top 5))
Yes...AG would have been proud. But not because of your potty mouth. But because of your gift of writing brilliance.