I do spoken word like fat kids do cake

I dream about it,
Sweat over it,
My hands shake thinking about them.
I devour words,
Roll them around in my mouth
Swallow, then regurgitate them back out.
My teeth are stained with the ink
I chew them
Meditate on them
Write them down
And tear them up
I try them on with my tongue
Tango with them across my living room floor
Scratch them out, write it again, scratch it out, write it again scratch it out write it again scratch it out write it
again and again and again and again and again and again….
My love affair with words started when I was real young
It would have been statutory if words were a person
I made love to words at middle school in my three-ring binders
In high school, on bathroom stall doors in between classes
In college, to professors who didn’t understand the weight of the situation
At 3 am quietly, with candles burning in my childhood bedroom
Now, on my living room couch or in coffee shops with voyeurs all around
I’m kinky about words,
I want to spread mine all around,
Whore my words out
Let people take turns with them and
Get to know them so intimately
But never quite understand what they’re about.
I want to look at them when I’m older
and realize how many people my words have touched.

Haley Mitchell, I’m a 23-year-old woman from rural South Dakota. I’m a tattoo and vinyl curator, body modifier, bookworm, outdoor enthusiast, and dog mom. During the day I’m a part-time barista and full-time Residential Counselor. By night, a feminist poet with a taste for the renegade lifestyle. I studied Psychology and Sociology in college but I’ve been creatively writing since grade school.