I learned the F word when I was in the second grade

A boy had used it when he dropped his lunch on the floor

I learned it again in the 5th grade

It took a completely different meaning

I used it in the 8th grade, to talk about that girl who was dating the boy I liked

I whispered it in my junior year of highschool

Because his hands were travelling the length of my waist

And my body felt like it had a mind of it’s own

The F word was later our favorite one because we fought all the time

It echoed through the empty parking lot as I screamed it

Tears streaming down my face

Disrespected and hurt

It escaped my lips a few times after in the school bathroom

When I sat slamming my fist into the ground because it was all over

Thank God it’s over

I haven’t used the F word since that day in the bathroom

And I don’t think I’ll ever have to

Because hateful words only escape my lips when I’m surrounded by hateful people

And you’re not here anymore, so I have no reason to hate

Now I whisper words of love as I lay in bed with my children

Their sleepy heads rest on my belly, talking to their new sister

They tell her how beautiful she is going to be

And how she will light up our worlds

I hope she never has to say the F word