From a Woman

They want me to
Live life in a timely manner
And come home before the moon.
To wear a veil, a good-girl banner
And pronounce- show with dark hair
The purity that I am sinless;
Untouched by groping hands,
Untainted by many a madam's mouth-
The gossip that they believe, can ruin lives.
 
For one purpose I must be
Fit to be wedded and secured, to move forward
one household to the other,
And to know my place, where I shall stand,
Silent against authoritative hands.
To keep both feet rooted in the ground,
But cringe and fall to the feet of a man
And yet, still hold his face to propel his prestige,
I am to be mute and to do as he pleases.
 
To dare not to hold these ideals
I face a road of scorn, a path unwanted-
Exiled and become named embarrassment,
To be gossiped about, whispers as I past by,
Cold shoulders and an outdated crowd speculating
The number of times I've been used, but never
How many times I've been through hell.
To be here I have no place to go, and
To be there I have no place to grow.