I Am

Do not give me equal rights.
They are mine already.
It is only up to you
to recognize what is

Mine, already -
what you have so brashly
so brazenly accepted as your
own, and only your own,
for as long as
forever has been.

And I will not wait,
not any longer,
for your generous act of
recognition - as if you were
bestowing a gift, or an offer
or a Right -
because gifts can be
rescinded, or taken
away by the giver,
even when it was
never yours to give,
not since forever
and ever has been.

I am a woman.
I am an immigrant.
I am a refugee.
I am black.
I am Muslim.
I am Jewish.
I am trans.
I am gay.
I am different.
I am other.

I am American.
I am,
I am, and
I will wait no longer
for the rights that are mine
and are mine simply because
I am.

in honor of #Internationalwomensday