I drove a twenty-foot U-Haul south on the interstate
with the windows down,
sweat running into my eyes,
beneath the brim of a trucker hat that read:
WOMEN DON’T OWE YOU SHIT.
Which was funny,
I had spent my whole life owing.
Even as a child, I owed my body,
explanations,
apologies that should have been received,
owed everyone else the ability to feel comfortable.
I gave everything I was,
to every place I existed, to everyone I loved,
until there was almost nothing left,
no proof that I had existed at all.
And suddenly, middle-aged,
with newborn eyes,
the price of remaining that woman
was more than I could afford.
I moved to a city where no one knew my name,
which was exactly how I want to be remembered.
The skeletons in my old closet, in an old town I used to live in,
had outgrown the space and closed in on my dining table.
Whoever those skeletons belonged to, it wasn’t me.
I left a larger house, and traded it for an apartment in a 100-year old house,
with neighbor’s footprints drumming the ceiling some nights,
but the closets are empty here, with boxes of real memories filling them:
my children’s drawings, recital programs, old poetry,
and the only bones in the house are carrying the woman I created.
Angela M. Carter is a poet, novelist, spoken word performer, visual artist, and advocate whose work explores trauma, resilience, identity, and transformation. Her writing blends personal narrative with social commentary and is known for emotional honesty and lyrical intensity.
She is the author of Memory Chose a Woman’s Body (2014) and Love Is the Dying Dog (2026-under pen name Angela Marie). A Pushcart Prize nominee and Virginia Literary Award nominee for poetry, Angela has performed at venues across the country including The KGB Club in Manhattan and Busboys and Poets. She currently serves as a judge for the Poetry Society of Virginia annual poetry contests in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
In addition to her literary work, Angela is the Executive Director of Virginia Down Syndrome Association in Richmond, VA.
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