[the Writing of Kuypers]
Jesus Christ, woman
But Christ, woman
And you’re real bitch that way, you know
Was it being strong after the closest thing
Was it that a man asked you to marry him,
Was it that they knew they couldn’t destroy you
What, was it that?
You were supposed to be the woman of steel
Because hell, woman,
[JanetKuypers.com][Bio][Poems][Prose]
Two minutes with a decrepit idol
I’d want you to tell me stuff
And I want you to teach me lessons
I should learn from my own mistakes
Because I’ve made so many
I’d want to tell you a thing or to
myself
Because hell, I’ve
seen
what you’ve gone through
And I can’t help but think
That your stoic statute can’t be be solid forever
And all I know
Is that I’d fall apart
Long before you’d ever think about it
And would you ever?
Would you ever think about it and
Would you wait,
woman,
see
how much shit they could throw at you
how much
would take its toll on you
how much
should take its toll on you
how much
To see how your resilience let you still come bouncing back
And I hate you for it
And does everyone else think that too?
And does everyone else think that you’re just fine
And you can take everything
And you’ll always bounce back?
What does that to you?
Was it having to be strong
When parents ignored you
For all of your childhood
To your high-school sweetheart
Raped you as soon as you were on your own
Him, the knife-wielding gang-banger
Without a college education
Was it that the little fucking bastard
Tried to beat you up to win your love
So they tried to kill you
And they’d fuck your chances for a future
And they take away your home
And they’d make you learn everything from scratch again
Was that too much?
You’re supposed to take it all in stride
You’re supposed to teach us lesson
I don’t know what makes you you
And I don’t know what makes me me
And I was hoping
That we could figure it out together
With more than two minutes
Because I don’t think I can do this on my own
And I don’t know if YOU need any help
But maybe we don’t
each
Have to be failing 
Copyright Janet Kuypers.
All rights reserved. No material
may be reprinted without express permission.
