nobody’s woman (anapeat)

i’m everyone’s girl, yet nobody’s woman.

never have i considered myself an innovator.

i do the tried and true things i know others will like.

never have i considered myself a boss.

my voice is too soft, my insecurities are too abundant.

but at parties, i collect high fives.

i’m everyone’s girl, yet nobody’s woman.

upon my pink, sparkly soapbox i stand,

preaching my worries akin to those of high school movie villains.

they laugh; they think they’re laughing with me.

there are times i feel i’ve lost my strength,

only to find out it was never there.

i’m everyone’s girl, yet nobody’s woman.

i want our daughters have strong, female role models,

but i myself fail to be one.

there is no room for me in my passions.

my mind was not made for the underrepresented fields

in which we are most needed.

but i’m everyone’s girl, yet nobody’s woman.

of glass ceilings, i don’t even scratch the surface.

it’s hard to fight when the fight is starting to reject me.

my voice is antiquated, tired, pointless.

but it still has volume.

i cannot be every woman.

i am merely myself.

as lacking and insufficient i may be,

this is me.

i’m everyone’s girl,

and i’m becoming my own woman.

-cn