Poetry Reading: RABID, by Blayne Waterloo

Read Poem:

You deserved girlhood
But were called a slut
Instead. Smothered in extra
Layers of resentment and
Expectations made from
Plastic dolls with painted
Smiles. You deserved more
Than projection of the
Lives you weren’t allowed
To live. You deserved your
Own mistakes. You deserved
To be more than someone
Else’s—punching bag or
Poor choice or otherwise.
You deserved cartoons and
Clutching to your innocence.
But you were pushed from
Their fantasies and perversions
Unprompted or informed, just
So they could say they were
Right. And now you grab
Your childhood in quick, tiny
Handfuls, angry and ravenous.