we fought a silent war in a battlefield that changed
sometimes clothing, sometimes names, sometimes behavior
the ground remained the same
she said I was a girl though disdained me for a daughter
I knew I was not, had always known, refused to back down
that was really what she hated, that I would not be quiet
her campaign became scorched earth
since she could not win, she would simply destroy
to prove herself right, she threw me to harm
a girl can have horrible things done by horrible boys
a girl can have terrible things done by terrible men
still I talked and said what they did, what they were allowed to do
a girl can be told that she makes things up and worse
a girl can be told that everything was her own fault
I was not the girl she tried to make me become
I walked away after all they did and all she said
I found my own place in the world
they/their/them
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