After Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib

All my sisters/ mouth the words/ female president/ like a spent prayer/ turn to the others/ deify/ the word/ first/ build monuments to the/ brightest &/ bravest &/ strongest of us all/ but even/ when these words ring true/ they say/ those words don’t belong to us/ those words are too heavy/ for little girls/ polite &/ gentle &/ pretty/ suit us better/we were told to/ wear those words/as rosen tiaras/ crowned by all the men/ who called us/ princess/ or bitch/ on the way home/ so as we awaited your ascension/ the storybook/ became a pop-up/ Enchanted brought into this realm/ but of course/ mama was right/ the white man/ ain’t ready/ for a woman president/ so you turned toad/ and fell out of the tower/ that night/ my sisters grabbed their scissors/ brought the blade to their necks/ whispered/ pretty has no place /in politics/ sheared our long ropes/ no man will climb up this shit/ enter our castles/ declare himself king/ we promise/ we won’t let him keep/ your throne