The devil you know
is the man who makes a law
that tells women not
to take their bodies

into their own hands
or they will be jailed or sued.
Denying women
themselves, law and man

(the devil you know)
is made to seem virtuous,
where it is so punitive,
right, where it is wrong.

The devil, you know,
he works in these ways, he twists
meaning to nonsense.
Some semantic

pain is the beast we
all must manage together.
But bodies are more,
more than the devil,

you know, can handle.
And the devil knows enough
to know these truths are
quite beyond his care.

What he—the devil,
you know—cares, is that you know
he can invent a
way to take away

your body. His will
overcomes your knowledge,
your rights, your being
who you want to be.

The devil you know
is happy enough seeing
you scared, hearing you
doubt yourself again.

The devil you know
is the man who makes it law
that women cannot
understand themselves.

MB 9/5/2021

The devil you know
is the man who makes a law
that tells women not
to take their bodies