Not to take myself too
seriously, but ... please don't steal this. It doesn't matter if you
like it, but ... don't
steal.
The Politics of Silence
As a
little girl, I played too long on the
swings
not long enough with "
girly things"
I liked my dresses
long, if at all
short dresses lead to
skinned knees if you fall
i got
older and changed my tune
stopped dancing by the
light of the moon
i tried to play by the same old
rules
i had the clothes, the hair, the
patriarchal tools
i believed my best friend when she said i was plain
when i didn't wear
makeup, so i bought the paint and played the game
i believed the
magazines when they said i was fat
so i starved myself thin to prove i could win
and i didn't really see that i gave up the "Me"
i woke up one day and looked in the
mirror
at the sad-looking, painted-up girl who wanted to be thinner
who tried to impress
men she didn't even respect
and i realized I wasn't quite gone just yet.
Now, I know I am
good as I stand here
today
that I can
talk often,
dance wildly, and
write loudly
that I don't have to hide behind you
want me to be
and I don't really
care anymore and I see
that I don't have to
pretend I am what I'm not
and I don't have to
justify what
lies I haven't bought
I am good as I am, the
feminist girl who talks too much
the one in your
class you just wish would
shut up
But I stayed silent for
years and I know all too well
the pain women
endure when they
silence themselves
So I'll talk too much, write too
loudly, break too much from your
norm
and hope that I made a
difference for things to really
transform