The Physics Of Atmospheric Misogyny

By Kyla Jamieson

We’ve been together For six months and I still haven’t written You a poem. I wrote many Poems to my exes So in theory this should Be easy, but all those Poems were arguments. Notice how I never wrote Poems to the women I dated? They deserved More than to be put In a poem in the role Of lover-antagonist. Women are always being Put places, like things. We are having sex and all That I can think of Is how easy it would be To kill you Elaine Kahn Writes. As a woman can Because the world Has made her feel Easy to kill. Last night I read the Wikipedia Page on Ted Bundy Because he’s trending And I knew only his name And that he killed a lot Of women. I think men Our age know more About Bundy than women Do and it shows. Just Yesterday another white Man killed five women In a bank. There’s an ad Playing right now That really annoys me: A woman waits At a bus stop and a man Starts playing a recorder. He leans into and over Her and the ad says use A car share. As though Women don’t already Drive to avoid street Harassment if we can Afford it. I watch TV In a nightmare future Where an ad for a banking App plays: the target Audience is women who don’t Want to get shot. What Does the world hate More than women In public is something Else Kahn wrote and Didn’t punctuate: it’s Not a question unless A bullet is a question. Can someone engineer Lead that turns into Inquiry mid-flight? In my dream future The NRA promotes guns That ask how you feel More than my meditation App. And when you shoot Them Donté Colley Comes out dancing. In this future I am the kind Of free I almost imagined But did not think possible And so are you.

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