A MAN ONCE TOLD ME TO STOP TYPING IN ALL CAPS;
I AM TOO LOUD EVEN WHEN
I AM NOT SPEAKING.
GIRL IS SUPPOSED TO CHOKE ON THE WORD,
IS SUPPOSED TO BE QUIET ENOUGH
TO BE SCROLLED PAST.
THE FIRST TIME I WENT TO
A POETRY SLAM, A WOMAN
SCREAMED AT ME, MADE ME
PROMISE TO NEVER QUIT SCREAMING.
GIRL IS AN ANCHOR AND A PEDESTAL.
GIRL TRAPS ME RIGHT HERE,
MAKES EVERYTHING I HAVE TO SAY
A SCRIPT
FOR AN AUDIENCE.
CAN YOU EVEN HEAR ME OVER
HOW THEY JEER?
BUT STILL, I
AM TOO LOUD.
GIRL WANTS TO HOLD ME AND
CALL ME PRETTY.
GIRL WANTS TO FIGHT EVERY BATTLE,
WANTS TO DIE ON EVERY HILL.
SCREAMING
IS EXHAUSTING AND
“GIRL”
IS THE ONLY WAY TO BE HEARD.
BLESS THE KEYBOARD AND
THE CAPS LOCK BUTTON.
GIRL IS A BROKEN PROMISE AND
AN APOLOGY BUT
NOT ALWAYS.
SHE IS LOUD, TOO.
TOO LOUD, TOO.
~
Mycah Miller is a Santa Cruz, CA-based queer poet, artist, and student, and was a member of the 2018 Legendary Collective Slam Team, the winners of the 2018 Southwest Shootout held in Albuquerque. She currently attends SJSU as an English major. She creates art as an escape from and commentary on the outside world in a continuous attempt to both understand and connect with others. In her free time, she can be found not writing enough, drinking tea, and riding her motorcycle(s). Her work has been featured by Vagabond City Lit, the Berkeley Poetry Slam, and Central Coast Poetry shows, among others. It is a protest, a love letter, and a canvas she has weaved herself thoroughly into. She can be contacted through her facebook page “Mycah Miller Art,” Instagram @MycahMillerArt, or emailed at mycahmillerart@gmail.com.
