you wanna get vulnerable, so you take off my clothes. you wanna get honest, so you ask about my truths. you wanna rest, so you hide in my skin. you wanna mom, so you cry in my arms. you wanna write, so you critique my poems. you wanna be free, so you breathe my air. you wanna be reckless, so you break what is mine.

how dare you split my-

self into so many parts

while you stay the same

 

 

Julia Gerhardt is a writer living in Baltimore.  She was nominated for the Best Microfiction Anthology 2020 and Best Small Fictions Anthology 2020. She has previously been published in Queen Mob’s Teahouse, Rogue Agent, Flash Fiction Magazine, Monkeybicycle, and others.  Her work is forthcoming in the Eastern Iowa Review, fresh.ink, Moonpark Review, Okay Donkey, Club Plum, Feminist Space Camp, and Rat’s Ass Review. She is currently working on her first novel. You can find her at: https://juliagerhardtwriter.wordpress.com/