My no means less than your yes.
My no to you perhaps means yes.
My no is up for discussion.
My no can be persuaded or explained away
Or followed down the street.
It can be molded until it sounds like yes to your ears
But still no to mine.
My no can be worn down
With niceness and faux concern
Or violence from your tongue and fists.
Each belonging to the same masters:
Manipulation and control.
And after a time
My no’s become a yes from an exasperated mind and lips.
This is when I realise that language is not all the same
That some no’s are more equal than others.
Photo Credit: nicospecial Flickr via Compfight cc
Emily Algar
Emily Frances Algar is a journalist and writer. She has experience in the music industry working as the A&R on the Grammy Nominated Album (Best Folk Album) Front Porch by artist Joy Williams. Emily has been published in a number of print and digital publications including Atwood Magazine, American Songwriter, and Record Collector magazine. She specializes in both long and short-form features as well as interviews and reviews. She has written pieces ranging from the commercialization of feminism and feminism in popular culture, critiques surrounding freedom of speech and the #MeToo movement as well as recently interviewing refugees from Iran. Emily has a Masters in International Security from Oxford Brookes University. Her thesis looked at the extent to which the media shaped public opinion during the Vietnam and Iraq (2003) wars.