Survivors
by Katie Feltmate
don’t ever question
a woman’s tolerance for pain
men saw us in
h a l f
leave us open and bleeding and infected
for days
weeks
lifetimes
still
we rip open our scabs
so that you can see what it looks like
so you can try to understand
why some cuts
never stop
bleeding
- survivors carry their survival on their backs
Golden Rules for Good Girls
by Katie Feltmate
wolverine your keys through the hungry spaces in your fingers
pretend you are talking on the phone
don’t wear a skirt or a dress
if you know later you’ll be walking home alone
don’t take that subway exit
the one where all the girls are disappearing at
take your headphones out
take your heels off wear something flat
text your friends when you’re leaving
text your friends all evening
text your friends about the man on the train creeping
text your friends when you get home
or
take an uber
call a taxi
just make sure you’re sober
sitting in the backseat
Katie Feltmate, (she/her) is an east coast poet, musician, traveler and feminist currently working on her first manuscript. Katie has an educational background in public relations, gender studies and creative writing. Drawing from personal experiences, her work explores love, relationships, mental illness, gender-based violence and other issues that impact women. Katie is passionate about writing as a tool for healing and empowerment. When she’s not boarding a plane or hiking a mountain, she’s probably writing poetry.
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To Write it Down
by Katie Feltmate
to write it down
the highest point of healing
to call it by name not just by feeling
to shine a spotlight on what you could not bare to look at before
to stand face to face with your trauma
to study every pore
to spell it out in a fringe of phonetics
to see your truths lying naked on the page
to craft your pain into cursive aesthetics
to watch it dance on a coil-bound stage
to write it down
the highest point of healing
to write it down