INSTITUTION GIRLS DON’T CRY

instead of crying she
flapped her arms in mimicry of angels
and hoped to get to Heaven

instead of crying she
chewed away on her cornsilk hair
and baffled every health visitor

instead of crying she
projected Zoo Tycoon faces on the walls of the ward
and protested the birth of her sibling

instead of crying she
read tens and hundreds and thousands of words
and ignored familiar voices

instead of crying she
stuffed her pale head down the back of the settee
and insisted she saw lights there

By Emma-Louise Adams

Biography:

Emma-Louise Adams is a multiply disabled lesbian writer who divides their time between the Sheffield and Cambridge areas of the UK. They were briefly institutionalized as a child and have been searching for freedom ever since. They find it in public parks, literary magazines, and as much advocacy as they can handle