With All Due Respect.

why do men think that they can disrespect me
when I am the one who has shouldered their falls
when I am the one who built them into the humans whom their children will aspire to be
when I am the one who carried their bags and left mine on the side of the road
when I am the one who wiped their tears while rivers were flowing out of my own eyes
when I am the one who sacrificed so much of my life just to see them smile

they tell me that I am a powerful woman
that they are honored to know me
that they told their mothers and best friends about me
only to avoid committing to me the next day

frankly
I have labored too greatly to be cheated
to be ghosted
to be viewed as the problem
to be used
to be heartbroken

frankly
I have given too much
to deal with someone who acts as though he does not care about me
or views me as an option

and with all due respect
none of them would be successful or loved where they are now
without me
but they will not admit it

even after all of this time
I only encounter disrespect