I am not your footnote,
denoted with a messy asterisk
that promises more on page 837.
How many women must wilt
in the inch-wide margin,
or languish in
“See Further Reading”
until we are given our own paragraphs?

I am not your “also,”
your “in addition” or even
your “furthermore.”
Textbooks use those words
to keep women on the blurry
periphery of history,
not for clarity.

They told me I could have the luxury
of being the “first female
dot dot dot”
Why can’t they understand
adding these brass accessories
to golden accomplishments
cheapens the entire award?

They told me my identity
could be derived from being
somebody’s wife,
somebody’s daughter,
somebody’s something.
Why do I need an apostrophe
to possess my own intrinsic worth?

Don’t you get it?
None of us wants to be your
footnote,
“in addition to,”
“first female dot dot dot,”
or apostrophe.
Period.