Independent Poem 3: Jasmine

Dear Lover,

You ask me,
'Why is it
we've lost that spark?'

And I answer with slogans
that have crawled inside my skin
I say,
'personal is the political'

you don't quite understand
my political awakening
is my body
opening
to desires
even I didn't know I had.

I look at you
And I remember us in bed

I question my tendencies
to tolerate

you're not here
and
I can't find the right emojis
To describe to you
How my body is becoming all eyes
I can sense people now

You wonder why I dissect
your harmless text
lover,
know that those words you type
with authority
are not harmless at all
I sense in them my
oppression

I also know
Asking questions
comes at a cost

Just by looking harder
You won't see
You can't see

You can't fathom
what has shifted in me

To raise questions
is to suffer

You say
I've changed
And I wonder
why you haven't.