poem by Linda M. Crate

i will follow my aspirations and my dreams

i’m not your moral compass

nor your sexual fantasy,

i’m not your silent painted doll

or your piece of meat;

i am not your broodmare 

or your pure maiden

i am my own—

to be a woman is a war because

everyone wants to paint a picture

of how we are meant to be,

they want as soft as flowers with 

little whimsical laughs and obedience;

but i never needed your partriarchy!

i am a fierce warrior,

and i have always fought for myself;

despite the fact the world has always told

me i was too much or not enough

and i had to fight so much self-doubt and loathing

before i learned to love myself as i was—

i am a woman

like it or not,

and i don’t care if i fit into your box

of who or what is feminine,

because i am well aware of who i am;

will follow my goals and my dreams because

too long i tried to pour myself into cups

for people who only sought to poison me.

About The Poet

Linda M. Crate’s works have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies both online and in print. She is the author of seven poetry chapbooks, the latest of which is: the samurai (Yellow Arrow Publishing, October 2020). She’s also the author of the novel Phoenix Tears (Czykmate Books, June 2018). She has published three  full-length poetry collections Vampire Daughter (Dark Gatekeeper Gaming, February 2020), The Sweetest Blood (Cyberwit, February 2020), and Mythology of My Bones (Cyberwit, August 2020)