I tried so hard to be a girl,
Who didn’t burn the letters
Who didn’t smash the glass
Who learned to love better
Who behaved herself with class

Who clutched machine pressed coins
Who clutched an outstreched hand
Who clung to soft gold memories
Who fanned orange dying embers.

I burned into a woman fast,
Who grew tired of pretty burdens
Who grew quick to cut the fat
Who forced her nerves to deaden
Who required no eclat

Who boiled over, burning steam
Who boiled bones upon a stove
Who tore open life at the seam
Who lived a wild tale she wove.