My assigned role
as a deaf brown
woman
was to be silent
and
submissive,
to play dumb
to grin and bear it

At times, I wasn’t
always able
to comprehend
their shouts
but the abuse was loud

My femininity just couldn’t
survive without patriarchy
they just had to put me in my place,
How dare you speak your mind,
How dare you be bold
And self-reliant

And so,
they emptied me out
like a pint of ice cream
to fill the carton
with their thoughts and dreams
in me
they saw
a construction site
a place that needed renovation

And so,
they took this big yellow tractor
and broke me into pieces
to turn me into
their version of perfection;
a silent and submissive
ignorant,
deaf brown
woman

But,
I survived.

Their attempt to annihilate
Who I was,
Just did not take
I had a spark,
Tenacity,
A strength within me

There was light within me
Shining in the dark.

The light that they refused to acknowledge;
Was the flame
That helped me run away.

I took matters into my own hands,
Decided to be brave
I reclaimed my soul.
I filled in the cracks with gold,
Just like those
Kintsugi bowls.

This piece is part of the “Listen to My Hands” portfolio, cosponsored by the Poetry Coalition for its 2022 theme “The future lives in our bodies: Poetry & Disability Justice.”