this is what’s mine
(my lips, my thighs)
i am not to
be tamed
i will not
push to explain what
i am,
           who i am;
who i am is none of
your concern

pull my hair
paint my face
squeeze my curves into
one place

keep in mind
the lord made me
the beautiful
               that i be
and last i observed
you don’t
hold the clay
that he’s been
moldin’
just for me


~ A. L. Stippich