he tells her (after Wendy Cope)

He tells her he's a woman too

He has a ladybrain

He tells her his identity

and hers; they are the same

He tells her not to talk about

her body; it's not fair

her body is her privilege

his own, a cross to bear

He tells her that she cannot talk

Or otherwise allude

to what her female body does

It's nasty to exclude

He says respect diversity

except he would prefer

that she would not point out the ways

that he's diverse from her

He tells her that biology

does not impact her life

she should still bear his children

but she must call him 'wife'

He says that words must all evolve

She must learn to make do

And now that woman is his word

He's taking 'female' too

He tells her that a woman is

whatever he decides

He will not put it into words

She must not ask, he chides

He tells her he is more oppressed

Than she has ever been

He says she must agree with him

or else she's being mean

She searches for the words she needs

To talk about herself

The billions who exist like her

their lives, their rights, their health

Whatever word she chooses now

He finds a way to spin it

The conversation carries on

But she's no longer in it

-R Irischild