Cruel, Cruel Conformity
Heather Landes

They told her that she was nothing,
They told her that she did not count,
That she did not matter,
No, only they mattered,
They told her where to go,
What to do,
And when to do it,
Like a mindless creature,
Like a pig on a farm,
Being raised for slaughter,
Or, in her case, marriage,
Who ever said,
That she needed men to control her?
Who uttered that she was stupid,
Or dumb?
They did,
They told her without words,
Without feeling,
Without guilt,
They told her with stereotypes,
With frowns in the streets,
As she strode by,
A woman who stood alone?
How unnatural!
Where was her man?
She must have gotten lost,
After all, she was only a woman,
Their glares cut her deep,
Yet she still stood tall,
With her beautiful head held high,
For she always knew,
That she was their equal,
Now, she just needed to convince everyone else.