You don’t have to tell me
What you think for me
In order for me to perceive
Exactly what you think
Of me
You don’t have to tell me
That you hate me
In order for me to understand
Exactly how little you think
Of me
You are not your brother’s keeper
So why be your sister’s keeper
You don’t have to tell me
That you don’t respect me
In order for me to know
Exactly how small I am
In your eyes
You don’t have to
Silence my voice my vote
In order to reduce me
To a number on a scale
(“not a whole integer, a fraction will do”)
All you have to tell me is
What you define as “beautiful”
What you swear is “your type”
What you believe is “the ideal woman”
What you revere as “worthy”
What you deem to be “truth”
And I hear
Your silence speak
I read the fine print of
A thousand words like
Ugly
Unattractive
Unworthy
Imperfect
Insufficient
Inadequate
Lacking
Perhaps it is true
that the Truth is ugly
that “there was nothing in her that man should desire”
Holiness is Godliness
But you found a way to purchase it for thirty pieces of silver
“So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.” – Psalm 81:12