Reasonable Woman

When I said I’d follow you,

I meant to the edge of reason

Where we could stand

And look out together,

Selves outstretched and hopes swollen,

Out across the sea of opportunity

Some for you, some for me

I did not intend

Nor did I distend

Any promises or vows

And I certainly did not permit these hyperboles of love,

That turn a slip of skin

Into a besmirched bed

And where fire permits stains

In the place that a rose had bled

And yet that is how it must be

Apparently

Because prejudice is permitted

By law

For it is Nature

That christened flowers to feel shame

In the name of pollination

That formed a lesser sex

And so I summon

The lesser half of me

Whose breast does blush when touched by air

Not from cold– from scarlet stares

And because I learnt to remind myself

That this flower bed is not mine to water,

And that the imbalance is permitted

By what is inherited

On the edge of reason

Like my hormones

And my chromosomes

So I must convince myself

That these hips are wide,

This chest heavy,

To carry more than I thought

I could bear

And yet, I am still unconvinced

Because I am a woman

Within reason