sometimes i realize
i am more than what i present myself as

a deeper wealth of validity
in a fragile shell of human

of femaleness tempered by
the male gaze that beats down on us all

and i more than know
i feel.

there is intensity here, underlying
fully and richly divine

in comparison to regularity
i am more than a name, a face, a soul

yet what is it that causes yearning

that brings sweetness in the heat
of desiring more than what i have

what is it that leads me up
out of the valley of my life and into possibility?

whispers on tongues, promises of more than
what i aspire to be

and within it all i acquire
and learn and continue to yearn