Ginger

“I’ve been writing a poem,” she said, “but there are only two lines and I don’t think they rhyme.” And she read out loud— “Two people were swimming in the sea One was alive and the other dead. See.”
― Barbara Comyns, Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead

“O woman,
father says natural is beautiful
so why do you redden your cheeks
and blacken your eyes?
Why do you remove the hair on your legs
and draw them into your brows?
Why do you hold your breath
lest your stomach show
and hold your fart
lest they know
that you’re a human? O woman,
father says natural is beautiful
so why do you straighten your hair
to curl it next
and pretend to orgasm
so they think you enjoyed the sex?
Why do you dumb yourself down
and push your breasts up?
Why do you smile when you’re told to
and love when you don’t want to?
When? When
will you stop, woman?
Father says natural is beautiful
but that is doubtful
for what does father know
he’s only a fellow.”
― Kamand Kojouri

“Of fortune cookies and tarot cards they have no need: my wheelchair, burn scars, and gnarled hands apparently tell them all they need to know. My future is written on my body.”
― Alison Kafer, Feminist, Queer, Crip

“This was my first lesson about gambling: if you see somebody winning all the time, he isn't gambling, he's cheating. Later on in life, if I were continuously losing in any gambling situation, I would watch very closely.”
― Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X