Survivor Literacy

Gumption by Protyus A. Gendher

Gumption 
Gumption 
Making me unfit for consumption 
I come by it honestly 
A lifetime of battery 
Left a trace  
Of the face 
Of a person erased 
Of a person complacent 
Of a person abiding 
Coerced by rules and timing 
But now there’s gumption 
And you tell me I’m not fit for your consumption 
Being processed by your eyes should be the limit of my function 
Am I supposed to notice you didn’t invite me to luncheon? 
Am I supposed to feel something because you call me garbage 
Like that holds a candle to the carnage 
That fills my pages 
Enrages 
My spirit song 
My warrior voice 
That wouldn’t exist in a throng 
Devoid of choices 
Gumption 
I was never meant for your consumption 
Despite your disgusting assumption 
That you matter as more than mere interruption 
Against the flowing of art 
From my relentless heart 
You’re like a poetic fart 
That has nothing of substance to contribute 
So instead you substitute  
A heckle as your wordy toot 
My gumption 
A challenge against your privileged consumption 
Makes you uneasy, exposing your corruption 
I speak about identity  
You speak about my hair 
I expose human cruelty 
That many people share 
And all you think to say 
Are words of dismay 
That don’t even argue some other way 
But I’ve got gumption 
That throws a wrench in your consumption 
And I know that’s something  
That’s beyond your understanding 
So, you turn to demanding  
That I fit some mold that comforts you 
And do the things you bid me do 
And act like someone who suits you 
Gumption 
I’ll never be fit for your consumption 
Because you would have me be nothing 

Marriage is Human Trafficking.
I invite you to prove me wrong, but you have to read it first!