There Is Room for All of You Here

by Michaela Angemeer

don’t make me feel seen you know the only thing i like more than hating men is male validation

before my birthday i miss everyone i’ve ever known even though i don’t know them anymore my life flashes before my eyes usually the bad parts i’m never sure if i’m dying or just getting older maybe it’s all the same

i would be more upset that you forgot about me if i didn’t forget about me too

my short term memory’s fried but i can still tell you everyone who wronged me as a child

i’m grieving my father but he’s still alive and i don’t know if i’ll have any feelings left when he dies

everyone keeps reinforcing my belief that people are unreliable can’t someone be consistent for once can’t one person stick to their word not make me second guess or double check i’m not asking for much just don’t say you’ll be there if you have no plan to

is it self-sabotage if it's in my dna women hiding for generations all i hear is hundred-year-old echoes of it's not safe to be yourself we can be brave now i scream back we can trust ourselves i scream back we can love who we love i won’t stop screaming

when you whispered can i? my heart skipped a beat no one else ever asked no one else ever cared if i said yes