woman
you are more than
every "no"
every interruption
every door that's ever been slammed
in your hopeful & determined face

you are more than
arbitrary numbers on clothing tags
the weight of your muscle and bone
and counting calories until
food becomes a source of shame
rather than a source of energy

you are more than
disney princess button noses
anti-aging creams before bed
and covering every single spot
that made its way to your face
by way of sun or oil

you are more than
changing who you are to make others happy
waiting up for a message that never comes
and all of the excuses made by men
who don't know how
to keep their hands to themselves

you are more than
all of the things this world
throws back in your face
when you give it your all
and get nothing in return
while a man gives nothing
and the world falls at his feet

woman
you are not bossy
you are too emotional
you are not less than

you are qualified
you are compassionate
you are strong
and you are enough

no matter what this world
built on the ideals of men
tricks you into believing

you deserve a spot at the table
you deserve to shatter the ceiling
you deserve to break down doors
and pave new roads

they will shout down at you
from powerful pedestals and say
you can't
but woman,
you can.
and you will.

I love someone who isn’t mine to love.
I bath in what he has left to give to me.
It’s never enough. Never enough.
I love someone who isn’t mine to love.
We share hidden smiles and forbidden moments.
It’s never enough. Never enough.
I love someone who isn’t mine to love.
I heartache of loneliness is mine alone.
More than enough.

When will we reach a day when we can rise above the hate?
Will we reach that day or is it already too late?
When we will just raise our arms and proclaim,
Enough?

If the right to bear arms is more important than the right to live,
why don't the children say,
Enough?

If the cage we put ourselves in is built on lies,
when do the people say,
Enough?

When in their dying breath, as the bullet reaches the end
and brings only the sweet embrace of death,
when do we let the children stop and raise the arms,
stand together and say
at last,
Enough?

When do we say no more?
When do we stop having to cry over the body of a kindergartener clutching their backpack tight?
When do we have to stop sending a child to a place to learn and tell them what to do if there is a gun or a fight?
When do we have to stop wondering whether today as a parent you say to your child your last I Love You and Goodbye.
When do we say we will not just lay down and die?

When do we say,
Enough.

We are the children
Of a rebellion of the frightened
We are a sound
that will not be silenced
We are the children
Of a thousand screams so strong
We are a fire
that has been growing for so long
We are the children
Who have to be grown tough
We are an echo
Stand your ground and say enough
We are the children
Who want to grow up

And make you proud
We want to make you proud
For we are your children
And that should be enough

everything used to be so fine
amazing, memorable, and lovely
when everything mattered
when i mattered, only me, to you

through those times we were laughing
i was there, fixing problems with you
the universe turned upside down
i found you craving for something
something or someone?

how could that be troubled by the past
why am i not enough
why not me
when i was always around every day