instructions for keeping yourself safe 
when you walk home tonight

1. trust your instincts
learn how to tell which side of
the street you're a slut on--
this is where you stand because
it is better to know 
what they will call you than 
to be caught off guard--
if the street lamp
turns into a silhouette of
cobra-- trust your instincts 
and don't acknowledge him--
he'll only want more attention--
you know how a whore carries
a book bag-- don't hold yourself
like that--
if the stop lights
bleed the sidewalk red-- whose
fault was it for walking there--

2. walk in groups whenever possible
at least in a bunch of grapes
you have less of a chance of being
eaten-- the emperor likes his
ladies all together so he
has the best to choose from-- 
you can each watch a different street 
lamp-- remind each other not 
to look too scared even though
sometimes the trees start to look
like men who've touched you--
yes we all have had a man who touched us
like a crosswalk-- 
when we walk together what will 
they call us? a pack? a herd?
a murder?
a murder of moonlights where
we held each others shoes--

3. be aware of your surroundings
you already know the street lamp
is a snake-- is a boa is ready
to tighten around your torso--
make love out of asphalt--
you know what it's like to be
held
down and kissed like a 
stick of gum in a crack on 
the sidewalk-- be aware
of the telephone wires-- they 
have a tendency of falling
and electrocuting the resilience 
out of our bones--
we become the hum of the 
Septa bus-- the shifting cyclops 
of a stop light--
be aware of your own legs 
and what they're asking for--
you left yourself so bare--

4. keep your charged cell phone with you 
make a phone call to God and ask
him to unsex you here-- out
out damn legs
dam breasts
damn sweatpants body that asked
to me called your fuck-toy
we've solicitated the attention of boys 
and car tire and
window-- this is where
i was born from-- i'll call
my father
so he can hear my real names--
"Little dyke-- oh yeah
you know i want you" 
"Oh yes-- oh yes i like it"
yes tell me again-- somehow you
knew that all our middles names
are slut

5. But not to worry
No physical confrontations or injuries occurred, 
and we do not have any reason 
to believe these incidents were related. 

it doesn't count if you unbutton my
jeans with your mouth-- this is what we
asked for-- oh yes-- we
wanted this-- we've always wanted this
we were trained for this-- 
learned to grant you permission
to pull off our shirts with your
tongues-- lick this little
dyke on the street corner-- the stop
light saw my injuries-- saw my broken knees
and the cobra draw blood--
stay still in the headlights so it doesn't see
you breathing--
we have no reason to believe
that the consistent dehumanization
of the 
marginalized body
has anything to do with 
a culture where it is easier
to tell us what side of the street
makes us deserving 
of the window poetry than
tell the boys it's not
their job
to call us by the names we already
know we all our
we know we're slut
we're dyke--
your mama-- your open-window
orgasm on a Friday night--
we already knew these
names
we were born with them.