i knew he was gonna ruin me
like a natural disaster but i was
feeling a little bit dangerous that day
and the glint in his eyes made
me want him that much more

people always told me that my
golden brown hair was the most
beautiful part of my being
and when the ends started to brush
against my eighth and ninth ribs
i decided i was beautiful

so i cut my hair till it rested
against the nape of my neck and
looked at myself in the mirror

and guess what?
i still felt beautiful

oh, hera
look upon me with your
piercing green eyes and
tell me of your woes,
of the fallacies you spin
around your ringed fingers;
tell me so i can learn how
to make the men drop to
their knees too

baby girl, i know he hurt you bad
real bad
but you gotta collect all of your
hopes and dreams in your hands,
put them in a knapsack,
and throw it over your shoulder
because it's gonna be a long road
and some nights those hopes and dreams
will be the only good that you have left,
and when those nights do come
hold your head and heart in either hand
and gently whisper "equal"
but make sure that you put them
back where they belong
because if you don't you're in for a
world of pain that not even your
hopes and dreams can handle

when you yelled at mom
the mind of it blew her hair back
and away from her lovely face

you force fed the words down her throat
and waited until she excepted it
as a form of nourishment

did you not see me
on the couch
watching it all

because i saw it
and i heard it

the yelling burned my ears
and the words were like
razor blades in my heart

i don't remember exactly
when my hips came in
but trust me, it was a lot like
free overnight shipping that brought
bigger pants
stretch marks galore
and the legs to go with them
suddenly i looked like a woman
and i didn't quite know what to
do with that