Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth

by Warsan Shire

To my daughter I will say, ‘when the men come, set yourself on fire’.

Do you feel that there are some situations where death is the better outcome? I remember Oprah’s advice on abduction - try to do whatever you can not to go with them, even if they are threatening you with violence or death. What they have planned for you is worse than just being killed right there and then on your own terms. This is what I was thinking about as I wrote this. What a way to lighten the mood.