Privileged (to Know)

Growing up with meager means
two-to-a-bed, high-water pants
and hand-me-down clothes
I never felt it

With an o where an e usually is
at the end of my first name
and last name that ends in ez
I never felt it

Afforded college on scholarships
for excelling with honors
Working too early mornings
at a menial job to pay the bills
I never felt it

Worked my way up the ladder
at a company after graduating
Stayed with them far too long
and got taken advantage of
I never felt it

A woman writes from the heart and shares her thoughts
She gets her words twisted, called names, verbal threats, unnecessarily sexualized, harassed, shamed, ridiculed, embarrassed, dismissed, belittled, demeaned, trivialized, berated, persecuted, faulted and stripped of dignity

I feel it
for the first time
I’m a man
this doesn’t happen to us
I am privileged