Okay, or
entitled little shits
Okay, or
entitled little shits
until taught
not to throw
sand, “bitch,”
direct punches.
A catchphrase
can be cute,
explain away
aggression, catcalling, rape.
Blame, “can’t help themselves.”
Try putting other
words there, say,
“choice,” say “can help themselves.”
Don’t say, “not all.”
Don’t be boring:
I don’t want to hear
about our vigilance.
Raise boys
to be conscious,
to be ashamed
of their coercion.
Dina Del Bucchia is the author of Coping with Emotions and Otters (Talonbooks, 2013), Blind Items (Insomniac Press, 2014), and Rom Com (Talonbooks, 2015), written with her Can’t Lit podcast co-host Daniel Zomparelli. Her short story, “Under the ‘I’,” was a finalist for the Writers’ Trust RBC Bronwen Wallace Award in 2012. She guest edited the Humour Issue of Poetry Is Dead magazine, is the Artistic Director of the Real Vancouver Writers’ Series and is an otter and dress enthusiast. This poem is published as part of the No Comment project.
More Writing from the No Comment Project
No Comment by Alessandra Naccarato
Erase and Rewind by Meghan Bell
White house, where some family lived upstairs by Chelene Knight
Loyalty and Violence by Ruth Daniell
Burning Bridges by Joelle Barron
Penknife by Ellie Sawatzky
for play by Kayla Czaga
back, cover by Elaine Corden
Sex Work Solidarity as Healing by Amber Dawn
I Was Once That Girl by Jen Sookfong Lee
On Receiving Bad News by Mallory Tater
The Disappearing Woman by Leah Horlick
Boys Will Be Boys by Dina Del Bucchia
Nicomekl River by Claire Matthews
Knowing Better by Anonymous
Monster by Mikiko Galpin
Reframing the Montréal Massacre by Maureen Bradley
Testimony, Part X by Anonymous
Broken Heart Emoji, Crystal Ball Emoji, Stars Emoji by Kyla Jamieson
Bits by Carleigh Baker
Metamorphosis 6: 401-674: A Paraphrase in Still Pictures by Annick MacAskill
black pearls by Jónína Kirton
Not Yet by Juliane Okot Bitek
Sei Turni (6 spells for #CanLit) by Amber Dawn
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