Enough

Of fitting into society's expectations, and living to appease others.

tell me;
if i paint my face
adorn my body with floral scent
wear a well practiced smile
will i be beautiful enough?

if i speak my mind
learn to memorise
strive to learn everything
will i be clever enough?

if i hold my own tongue
try to fit in with everyone
if i become what you want
am i obedient enough?

if i starve myself thin
learn to hate my own skin
tell me, will it be then
that i am small enough?

if i then stuff my bra
cinch my waist in tight
wear short skirts and heels so high
will i be wanted enough?

if i wear my skirts long
keep my face 'au naturel'
hold my keys tight at night
will i be safe enough?

if i forget who i am
mould myself into anything
if i strive to be pretty, tell me;
will i be good enough?

oh, i'm trying
but how could i ever be
enough.

Author's Note

It's been a while - far too long, in fact, since I've sat down to write poetry. Here's to hoping I find more time for it this year~

Reviews

[ANTO]

There are shades of the great 'IF' by Kipling here Brenda (ooh welcome back by the way)
Expectations seem to get heavier and heavier on successive generations - last week I saw kids who had disfigured themselves by putting their lips in small jars and sucking the air out, creating a vaccum strong enough to burst blood vessels all around their mouths, in pursuit of the perfect 'Jenner' (whoever that is !!) pout.
Its driven by social media now and so sad.
A superb and very topical piece my friend.

[Brenda Woods]

Thank you, ANTO - it's good to be back :)
And true, it is - there's so many aspects of it that I didn't even touch on. It's sad to watch and whilst people here in NZ are pretty open and chill, I suppose social media having such a large presence these days can hugely impact someone's self esteem.
I do hope that one day kids won't be expected to keep up with trends and double standards just to be considered attractive or popular.

Anyway, thank you for the lovely review - always a pleasure talking with you.

[ANTO]

oh and a *vacuum as well
- typos - cant levi with them cant levi without them - (c) anto lol.