He who wastes a woman’s will
Burns in flames that will never still.

He who mocks a woman’s mind
Will be ruined by the wind.

He who abuses a woman’s body
Mother Earth won’t feed nor bury.

He who hurts a woman’s heart
Rots where tears and oceans start.

He who scorns a woman’s spirit
Loses his own birth within it.

 

First published in Nasty Women Poets: An Unapologetic Anthology of Subversive Verse. Ed. Grace Bauer and Julie Kane, Lost Horse Press.