Creative | Posted by Allison Y on 05/25/2010
I Am Not
I am not:
a helpless lamb.
a damsel in distress.
a glorified baby receptacle.
a little flower incapable of thought.
I am a philosopher, a scientist,
an artist both in the visual
and auditory realms, a chef,
an athlete, a gardener, an
environmentalist, a scholar.
I can lift heavy things.
When you showed me where the
toaster was today, why did you
feel the need to finish all
your sentences with “sweetie;”
why did you repeatedly assume
I’d burn myself?
Was it because I was wearing
a dress?
Did that swath of fabric
indicate to you that I was
a lesser human being?
Does what I have between
my legs alter your perception
of my intelligence and
abilities?
And you, on your bully pulpit.
When will you stop using
religion as a guise for
the guilt and shame you
spew onto me?
Where would you be without
your scare tactics?
I am NOT a stupid, helpless
“child,” and I
don’t need you and your self-righteous
army to “save” me.
How dare you try to tell
me what I can and can’t
do with MY body.
I am:
a human being.
capable of my OWN decisions,
thank you very much.
I can assure you that another
X chromosome hasn’t left
me mentally or physically
enfeebled.
(18 votes, average: 4.56 out of 5)
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Freddy-May @ at 11:24 am, May 25th, 2010
I love this.
Claire @ at 2:10 pm, May 25th, 2010
Hooray! Finally a poem that expresses what I want to yell at the world sometimes. I’m going to email this to friends and spread the word.
May @ at 4:02 pm, May 25th, 2010
I like this a lot. It’s very like a poem I wrote called “Am Not:”
I’m not
sex on legs.
I’m a blade
waiting to draw red.
I’m not
looking for action.
I’m looking for heaven’s kingdom
come to Earth.
I’m not
open for business.
I’m open to career moves, new contacts,
new friends, new ideas.
I’m not
ripe for the plucking.
I’m plucking nerves, twisting ears,
getting their backs up.
I’m not
a little lady.
I’m a lady of the shadows, fire and blood.
I’m Lady Justice with a flaming sword.
I’m not
what you’re expecting.
I am powerful, ferocious and infinitely
beyond your capacity for understanding.
AJ @ at 12:11 am, May 26th, 2010
Amen! (to both Allison and May)
Hope Springs Internal @ at 7:11 am, May 26th, 2010
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this poem. It’s amazing!!! I would love to be able to post it on my site, Hope Springs Internal. I’m going to try to contact you to see if you’d be interested in being featured on the site!
Haley @ at 9:42 am, May 26th, 2010
wow! i love this!
Melody @ at 10:55 am, May 27th, 2010
Once again I’m completely blown away by the awesome young ladies who put this blog together. LOVE it. Bravo to you for writing it, both May and Allison Y.
Body Loving Blogosphere 05.30.10 | medicinal marzipan @ at 7:42 am, May 30th, 2010
[...] post, I Am Not, on the fbomb is beautifully feminist, body positive, and [...]
The Wholestyle Network » Blog Archive » Sunday Poetry: I Am Not @ at 1:03 pm, May 30th, 2010
[...] Allison Y, originally published at The F-Bomb. Allison (Aly) Young is a graduating senior in high school and will be attending St. Olaf [...]
sui @ at 5:45 pm, May 30th, 2010
absolutely beautiful.
Danielle @ at 1:06 am, June 30th, 2010
I was kind of speechless as I was reading…both poems were AMAZING.