Safe Space
A Poem
It really isn’t safe here. This place, this space that I have come to
For community, for support, for refuge, for a movement Is fickle, is violent, is not consistent or cool
Misogyny is celebrated, feminism means do what you want and Never think about things like systems, or class, or material conditions, or even
The basic realities of bodies, socialization, the backbones Of oppression are now taboo
We cannot talk, we cannot talk, we cannot talk And the silence is applauded on the left, on the right
This space is not safe, unless you fall in line, and never Think one critical thought, one question — there is no movement
Here, there is cult, there is groupthink, there is rant raving hate This space that I came to to organize for this and for that, to raise
Awareness for justice, for empathy, for awareness, for peace Is a place that does not want to hear from me about
My life, realities, my daughter’s life, realities It is a space of selective care and constant use — what’s the word?
Performance? Yes. A place of fake and fraud. A place where no matter what Men come first
In any form, in any movement, on any side Men. Come. First.
And this is called feminism, and this is called activism, and this is called evolving,
If only it were true. If only evolving meant somehow we had Moved past, grown past, risen above, were ready for the next phase — when
We still rely upon the first phase, the OG exploitations, to get the jobs done — when
They say evolve evolve evolve it simply means Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet
We won’t speak of it anymore and we will pretend So that it can be called progress, and that progress demands
Your silence, your subjugation, your abuse But, we know, they know, it’s not like we weren’t used to it.
©Jenny Justice. All Rights Reserved.
Jenny Justice, Poet. Author of Love in the Time of Climate Change and Reveal. You can read more of her poetry at Justice Poetic. Sign up for her newsletter here.