I no longer flinch at a noise outside my door.
How could you let a child be more afraid of you
than a monster in her closet?
I had to unlearn fear.
I had to unlearn your footsteps.
Making sure you’re not coming into my room
is no longer something I have to worry about.
I have learned
that it is not normal
to feel my stomach turn
at just the thought of a conversation with you.
You put your hands on the wrong woman
because my mother
taught me how to take it,
But I taught myself
how to fight back.