The Meaning of No

It’s not your fault

Perhaps you stayed home the day they taught “no” at school

Let me break it down for you

It’s a single syllable

Wielding the power of objection

You can question it, feel free

You lose that right though

If I say it to you

When you’re two centimeters from my face

It’s commonly used to express dissent

What is it not?

An invitation to assert your will

And monopolise the air I was breathing

Choking me with a lack of choice

It means I do not want your hands

Undressing me quicker than your eyes

I do not want your lips

Obstructing mine from mouthing “no”

It isn’t my signature

On an NOC

Allowing you to claim my personal space

Giving you ownership of my body

Don’t brandish your entitlement

To drown out my pleas

Don’t amplify my shame

My gender isn’t a license

To assert your freewill

I cried so you would leave

Not so you would come closer

In the name of comfort

I cried so you would see yourself

As the animal that was before me

No.

It means stay away

And take your hungry eyes with you.