Alation

And my flaws finally won

They never once let me forget, 

That my life was nothing but debt. 

They told me my skin wasn't light enough, 

For a woman of colour, finding a man would be tough. 

When hunger made me eat in haste, 

I was told to cautiously watch my waist. 

My need for knowledge kept me up at night, 

The gray hair of wisdom was scoffed with fright. 

I loved my hair, untamed unlike me

Its rebellious spirit they could not see. 

I was forced into the kitchen, 

Because wives cook and men pitch in. 

Never once was I told you are resilient, 

As though it mattered not that I was brilliant. 

You are a woman, behave ladylike

This is a man thing, you can't ride a bike.

I did as was told and began to cower, 

They said I had lost my glow, like that of a dying flower. 

That night I looked at my reflection in the mirror, 

I had lost myself, it became clear. 

I became what they wanted for acceptance and love,