
hostile work environment | Laila Halaby
I was not the target I was collateral damage and still my heart beats extra as I write this story
I was not the target I was collateral damage and still my heart beats extra as I write this story
Hey, new girl. You do yoga, right? We oughta have a staff art class. Get you to model naked. Shove an apple in your mouth
Covered completely and yet I felt naked, filthy with the grime of adolescent appraisal… If I screamed would you hear me—have you been listening at
I’ve contorted my name Into basic syllables Cut off my rolling r Like demolition to mountain tops To suit your tongue …
I have procrastinated about writing this to you for 45 years. Even now, my heart is pounding and my foot is tapping. I am angry
We speak of this over decaf coffee, over countless afternoons as the sunlight simmers, as the shadows stretch slowly like a cat across the carpet…
Over the years I chastised myself for being naïve, for inviting him to stay the weekend. That second guessing is what stopped me from telling
Show me a man who has never pushed when someone said no Who has never covered up violence Who has never sheltered an abuser Who
He tapped into all of this. He also took his time to make me believe how special I was in his eyes. He didn’t sweep