you took my rage
& reshaped it
turning the corners
smoothing creases
thumbing edges
until
            distorted
            cowering
            hiding
it resembled a soft quiet thing
barely visible

you took my voice
& suffocated it
shattering flow
shuttering flight
diluting rebellion
until
            fractured
            flayed
            thrashed
it became
             small
             safe
             docile
             silent / silenced
starving in your
petting zoo

you took my words
& soiled them
snatching greedily as they
spilled out staining
every polished surface
to be
              dissected / dislocated
              sliced / split
              truncated / twisted
              tormented / restitched
              unrecognisable

tonight
              i will take them back &
              all breakages must be paid for

UK-based neurodivergent writer Jane Ayres completed her Creative Writing MA in 2019 at the University of Kent aged 57.  In 2021, she was nominated for Best of the Net, shortlisted for the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award and a winner of the Laurence Sterne Prize. Her debut collection edible was published by Beir Bua Press in July 2022. Website: janeayreswriter.wordpress.com  Twitter: @workingwords50