you.

would you
try to change me,
straighten my curls that flow around my head
clear my skin of its red spots and blemishes
steal my glasses off my face
if you knew what I knew?

would you
say these things
if you knew
that they are the reason I cry alone
the reason I hate the mirror
the reason I want to be someone else
would you?

would you
tell me how much better I would look
if you knew
that your suggestions are unwanted
that your opinions do not run my world
that you make me think I am a flaw
a mistake

would you
stop calling me "she"
if I asked you to?
would you
call me "they"?

would you
stop referring to me as a girl
if you knew how much it hurt?
how wrong it feels to turn the handle on the door to the girls bathroom
how wrong it feels when you call me a girl

would you
not try to change me
modify me
fit me into your little cookie cutter expectation
and cut a part of me off as you do

would you?
because sometimes it feels like
you would not.