A Girlhood

from Out With Lanterns

Somewhere along the way,
she learned not to need.
To need is to want
and to want is unbecoming.
To become, she learned: 
Do not want food, not aloud. 
Do not want beauty or praise. 
Wear the same uniform, and
always stay beautiful and small.
Above all, be beautiful and small.
Give yourself very little. 
Never ask for attention
unless the sky is falling.
Be quiet, keep quiet.
Stay. Quiet. 
Which is why she screamed 
that the sky was always falling
and why she ate and ate 
and why she needed more and more
until all she could do was run. 

Photo by Europeana on Unsplash