We pretend to be strong,
but we end up like ice—
cold and ready to melt.
Or,
sometimes,
we are fire,
and we watch with fascination
as everything we touch
burns.

We are contradictory.
We eat our feelings
or we don’t eat at all.
We laugh,
we laugh until we cry.
We open our hearts to each other,
but we shut out everyone else we’re supposed to love.

We are extremes.
We are isolation
mixed with desire,
quick hearts
sprinkled with tears.
We are rule-followers.
We are heart-breakers.
We are always right
amidst our constant confusion.
We are the future,
stuck in the past.
We are young,
but we are burdened.
We are women—
we are strong,

but we are fragile.