the joke is that they don't care

i am laying awake
at night
in pain,
as my reproductive system bleeds.
            it alone
            is more badass
            than the men
            who wrote the texas health textbooks.
it boils my blood
that we watched hotel rwanda,
annotated excerpts from the rape of nanking
and read whatever bullshit catcher in the rye is
            like it’s so much better
            to learn about rape,
            genocide,
            and male sexuality,
            than my own damn self.
female biology teachers
try to teach us consent
with tea
            it does not change the fact
            that a handmaid’s tale
            was neglected in favor of east of eden
it would be hard
to not feel unimportant
            unimportant
            to those who have made a career
            of being pro birth
            and shaming teen moms
            as if their views don’t contradict
            as if they hadn’t taken away sex ed.
it’s almost as if
they only care
about the raping, brutalizing, genocide, and men.
            but the joke
            is that they don’t care at all.