"womanifesto" by Nina Posner
our mouths strip flesh off peaches our hands
pluck flowers from the sides of highways these bags
under our eyes are thousands of years old
they say white is the color of purity
do not believe them
we do not smile at the grimacing men on the street who talk a big game
instead we stare unflinchingly at their foreheads, we walk
telepathic projections of "fuck you" in sixteen different body languages
they say white is the color of purity
there is no such thing as purity
we were taught to be contained, to be spread over as little area
as possible. wash your body out with soap, little girl, scrub the color
from your limbs like clothes on a washboard
they say white is the color of purity
tell them that white is the presence of all colors
we live unbridled by discipline, cupping
shoulders and hands and heads. the spaces between
our fingers are strength, we are proud to sneer and be seen
they say white is the color of purity
we do not hear them
