I will not be confined
by words used to describe me

Here one says,
"You think like a man,"
and I-- shattered, female-- wobble
in uncertainty--
are my breasts, my thighs, my femininity--
all ludicrous?

Here one says,
"You're argumentative,"
and I-- crushed, reprimanded--
beg pardon for the boldness of
my thoughts--
and the surety
of my stances--

then ashamed-- bite my tongue
and bury my soul--

Only to be timidly
resurrected
by one who says, with a pensive pause,
"I've never met anyone like you,"
accompanied by a steady gaze--
sincere, thoughtful--
that restores my determination
to speak

not the words that are given me
but the ones that lurk on the edges of society
and in the corners of the self.

11/25/2002

Posted on 11/25/2002
Copyright © 2025 Mainon A Schwartz