Safe Spaces
This is a safe space, she said. You can let it out here. We are not marginalized here. This is community I looked into all the shades of Mother earth's fertile soil eyes staring back at me. I felt a since of belonging, no brown eyes have ever been in my safe space Even amongst my family, I was the sole owner of whiskey swirled chocolate Each woman spoke, space was held, words and validation shared Once my turn to share came round I hesitated for a moment, how safe I closed my eyes, and exhaled "I hate the word squaw from a man's lips. I hate seeing it in print beneath a women's body. It is violating" The hesitation in my mind , was gone from my lips. There was silence "I have never heard that word, as derogatory slang before." she passed on to the next woman. I exited the room, lucky there was no awkward scraping of chairs or fumbled gathering of effects I simply clicked a red X My teeth hitting my lip, seemed the cue my lungs needed to clinch. My ey...