To All Those Who Need To Be Aggressive

This is a response to your accusation

My Photo, Graffiti

I’ve been told I’m aggressive

to men and women

as if it’s a problem

I can strike from my record

where I can reassemble

my invisible, intimidating line

and I wonder about my aggression

am I like a pit bull

that needs to be put down?

That I bit your skin

when you tried to let me in

teeth sinking straight through

if you only knew

my need for this aggression

any time I’m soft I get eaten

I’m held down and beaten

metaphorically, of course

like all poets do

because I know

the other side you can’t imagine

it’s never welcome in this world

my feminine design is forgotten

I am wounded without this

vulnerable like a snail

without a shell