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Shley Dec 2024
Thank you for trying to help me cope.
Thank you for trying to offer me hope.

But this wound goes deeper than the soul.
It's the way the world is broken as a whole.

You'll never know the crush to a little girl's heart;
The shock and fear and disgust that starts

When she learns how men will see her,
How they'll fantasize on how to use her.

When she learns her power is minimal
And she's at the mercy of men who are criminals,

That being in this body makes her a target,
And her worth is decided in the beauty market.

Every part of her free game to criticize,
And valued only as she's seen by men's eyes.

So forgive me if I have trouble believing
That the world is better than I am perceiving.

But my life is the proof that what I'm saying is true.
Be thankful you can't understand all I've been through.
From a conversation with a man trying to understand
Shley Dec 2024
Putting on the smile in the morning that is my makeup.
Putting on joy and confidence as my clothing.
I do it for my children.
They don't need to know it's only skin deep.
I will make myself into whatever they need to have the childhood I longed for.
Shley Jun 2024
There's been a death, and I can feel it.
The death of the love you promised me.

You promised to love in sickness and health,
But I can tell in your eyes you despise me.

What did I do, where did I go wrong?
When did I become not enough for you?

You chose pretend women and imaginary worlds
You chose literally anything but me.

My tears mean nothing when I plead with you.
And now like an enemy you attack me.

You once promised to always protect,
But now you're the greatest danger to me.

So don't you see that's why I must leave.
The man you were is dead.

I am a widow, and I'm mourning the death
Of the man who used to love me.
For a friend
Shley Mar 2024
I never could've known the life we'd have
When we were young and drunk on discovery.

When you walked into my life like light flooding a room,
I never could've imagined what we'd build together.

As I hold the children you gave me in my arms,
The culmination of our intertwined hearts,
I feel so rich and full and satisfied.

I didn't know then, but I know now, just how beautiful it is to open your heart to another.
Shley Feb 2024
I cut off my hair today.
Destroyed my crown of glory.
Threw off the shackles of beauty.
And I've never felt so free.
Beauty is a burden. And now a weight is lifted.
Shley Jan 2024
The joy of my baby right before me
But I can't seem to feel it.

Loving husband on my side
But I can't seem to see it.

Precious friends with a lifeline
But I can't seem to grasp it.

A mist has settled all around
I must find my way through it.
Shley Dec 2023
I hold my child against my chest,
The place he loves to sleep the best.

I feel the rhythm of his breathing,
A little moment with so much meaning.

Full of nourishment from my breast,
Satisfied and content to simply rest.

My arms surround him holding him snug,
Safe and secure inside my hug.

These moments limitless in their worth,
Little pieces of heaven here on earth.
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