We are told, all through our lives
that there is something else
to be attained. Our mothers say
we should be polite. Our fathers say
we should cut our bangs. Our friends say
we should be cool. Cool
like them, but not like them.
Our boyfriend tells us not
to tell anyone he is our boyfriend.
Our professor tells us to emulate,
not plagiarize. We tell ourselves
to wait for the day when we might be
the person we were always
meant to be. What would happen should we
be adored from that first moment,
like we are still babies with tender
cheeks and soothed cries, touched
like a wonder of nature, to be understood
like a mystery never to be solved?
To Be Adored
