maelynslavik

If every girl

Looked liked a boy

Acted like a boy

Was a boy

Would we get farther

In life

Would we be respected

If every woman

Was a man

Would we be valued

Would we be able

I have never been a poet,

But for you I will try.

Before we bonded

Bullies belittled me

And it broke my heart

Because I felt it in my bones

But now that we belong

With each other's beautifully 

Breathtaking selves

Their words don't break

If only i had smiled differently,
worn a different skirt, a longer one,
if i had stayed quiet, let him win,
shrunk smaller, been easier to touch,
been harder to hurt, laughed when i wanted to cry,
cried when i wanted to scream.