I am the embodiment of dishonor
because I’m a woman.
I am the blight in my family name,
because I’m a woman.
I am the scum of custom
because I’m a woman.
Because the honor of a woman
allows only 3 things:
Cleaning,
Feeding,
and breeding.

Yet “because I’m a woman,”
I have learned how to carry my head high,
like a queen who has conquered all.
I have learned how to think quick with my wits,
ready to climb the ladder of success.
I have learned how to sharpen my words into blades,
prepared to lay ignorance to rest.
I have learned how to smile with grace as
my fortress rained down with arrows of expectations.
I have learned how to fend for my place,
myself far from a blight.
I have learned how to face my demons,
refusing to bow in the name of submission.

After all,
I stumbled over my own two feet,
only to rise once more,
to become this woman.
I crossed oceans of insecurities and fears
to become this woman.
I danced on a tightrope with societal beasts underneath,
to become this woman.
I waged a war against tradition
to become this woman.

And I would never
give her up
to be fashioned into
a maiden who needs saving.