HER

(1) 

Why do people believe in mermaids? 

As if humans lack beauty, 

as though even fish must be slender and long-haired. 

(2) 

She’s just as sweet as honey,  

with a pinkish blush on her cheeks  

and a bright tangerine hue on her lips.  

Be cautious when she walks in her flats, 

for they hold a thousand plans 

arranged overnight. 

(3) 

Satin shirt,  

lacy skirt,  

glossy lips,  

and earrings made of gold.  

A stony road might scratch her suede shoes,  

but it’s okay!  

It would take mountains  

to ever scratch her mind. 

(4) 

She writes her first entry on the first day of the month. Blue ink for good days, red ink for bad ones. 

Her blank pages wait to be filled with whatever color it may be. But wait… 

Does she ever buy the red pen? 

(5) 

I told you I wasn’t being dramatic or hormonal,  

when I cleaned the whole house every time I got mad,  or when I did the laundry at 1 a.m.  

I’m just being functional, 

able to keep my sanity 

without throwing things, 

even when my head feels like it’s exploding. 

(6) 

Maybe she was just too young 

to interpret a simple “hi.” 

Later, she will realize

that all the manipulation 

happened to her 

when she was too young 

to give a simple “hi” 

any meaning. 

(7) 

There will be a day when I figure it all out. 

You don’t seek the tenderness in my voice 

or the gentle touch of my hands, 

let alone the care and love I offer. 

Insecurity is what you need. 

That’s how you define my womanhood. 

(8) 

Is this what society really demands of her? 

To torture her soul countless times 

and expect her to feed people 

a plate full of forgiveness? 

(9) 

Safety is such an expensive thing 

that I need fear to keep myself safe. 

How many years do we have to wait 

so that we will not hear 

“it could’ve been you” anymore? 

(10) 

I wondered if a pigeon secretly wished to be a lily, for the lily’s vase is more beautiful than her wooden cage, but does the lily think the same way, 

or does she secretly dream of what the pigeon has? 

(11) 

There were many women before me  

who built that ladder  

so that I could climb higher and higher.  

I want to build a ladder too  

for the women who come after me,  

but maybe for the women beside me first. 

(12) 

I will turn this dry land into a garden in bloom. I am not a single orchid, 

for my knowledge 

has been carried by the wind.