Poem about unpicking who others made you: Hemmed In

Photo by cottonbro studio at Pexels

Diana Pricop refuses to wear the shapes others cut for her

You stitch me into shapes I never chose to wear

Then blame me when the seams split under your stare

You measure out my worth for what your narrow eyes can see

Then discard me when I am not what you want me to be

You lace me into silence, tight as a corset’s cruel embrace

Then put me back into the cupboard whenever I make a face

You hide me away until I learn how to behave

Then I become a mannequin of expectations standing like a slave.

But I am a thread unravelled now, I am every stitch you pulled loose and I am no longer silenced.

I am not the silhouette you traced in ink and expectation

I am the body learning how to breathe without hesitation

I was never yours to tailor, so watch me unpick what you made me to be

I know I will never be free, but at least I finally stopped wearing what never fit me.

Photo by Alexandr Molokov from Pexels