I Won’t Wear Pretty Things

I Won’t Wear Pretty Things

I won’t wear pretty things for you

or pull my shape to match your view

don’t tuck me in, don’t trim me neat

I’m not some prize laid at your feet

I’ve walked through rooms I tried to shrink

been poured in dresses soft and pink

I’ve smiled on cue, and swallowed hard

while someone else held every card

But not today, not ever now

I’ve burned the rules, I’ve learned the how

my skin’s not shame, my size not wrong

my arms are wide, my spine is strong

I wear my weight like battle stone

each pound a fight I faced alone

each scar a badge, each fold a line

and all of it, completely mine

You want a doll? Go wind her up

I’m fire and edge and half-full cup

a woman built from grit and flame

who won’t sit down, or change her name