Who makes these rules
Of what I should be,
Could be, would be
Of things I can and cannot do

Who makes these rules
Of what I can become
Where I should go or shouldn’t

Shan’t Can’t Won’t
Words that bog us down
Words that somehow drive us
Either to prove or disprove

My heartbeat quicken unnaturally
It’s galloping away at the thought
Of doing something I shouldn’t
Couldn’t wouldn’t mustn’t

Is this how every person
Who ever fought against inequality face
Is this how every person
Who had to demand their rights felt

I know I am blessed
To be in the midst of
Equality equanimity and equity
Beyond what exists in other places

Yet even here exists
The couldn’t shouldn’t mustn’t
For male and female
For child and adult

Some legal
Some logical
Some psychological
Some physiological

My ramblings
in the middle of the night
Unclear about my statement
Yet fierce in its voice

- Angela Vincent Michael