Tigress

"It's so cool! It's like tiger scratches!"
Her sweet words ring out across the frosty, chilly, nippy glen
She means well, hair in aburn waves, eyes a sparkly sea of care
But I have been called a tiger before
I used to say it was my spirit animal
Before I had the 
Opportunity (?)
Of growing up
I have been called a tiger before
When they called me bossy
Scary
Femenazi
Fiesty
Proud
All these words for women that sound good at first, but no one wants to be called
No one wants a tiger personality, much less a tiger body
They stretch across my legs and torso and hips
Purple red, swollen
She once suggested we paint them gold and do a photoshoot
It was a sweet idea, but I'm not strong enough yet
We're told to embrace our scars, so I tried to be a proud tigress
But it turns out that's just another part of me that nobody really thinks is fine