Ragtag Daily Prompt | 28.01.2026

Hysterical

They call women hysterical
when we refuse to be quiet.

When we don’t let injustice soften with time.
When we don’t accept the story handed to us
because it’s easier for everyone else.

I’ve been called hysterical
for asking questions.
For remembering.
For caring longer than was convenient.

“Let it go,” they say.
“The truth will never come out.”
“Why fight for a junkie?”

That word—
that lie—
is meant to end the conversation.
To strip a life of dignity
so no one has to look too closely.

But grief does not make me hysterical.
Love does not make me hysterical.
Refusing erasure does not make me hysterical.

History is full of women
called hysterical
right before they were proven right.

So yes—
I’ll stop writing now,
before I get hysterical.

Or maybe I won’t.

💫Maggie

The Afterlove Voice 💫