if i turn back around to face you
after you yell at me in the street
does that make of me a pillar of salt?
does that make me too curious
too lost in wonder in the lion-eyes of a man
who says he wants to devour me
who looks at my body like it's spinning on a potter's wheel
for him to mold
for him to tell me things about

i came here to feel empowered, but i'm so shy
i came here to say that men in the street make my body feel like scrap metal
like they can pick out good parts and discard the rest
like they can melt me down into something i wasn't before

i came here to say that i feel like a rough draft
and that i just got left on his desk somewhere
and that this isn't it, so just keep waiting!
the best is yet to come.

the lioness is in town, now:
and i can't keep my head down for long.
i can't be melted or molded just yet
the lioness is in town.