etthheerreeaall-blog

[etthheerreeaall-blog]

Stick to your vision / To what makes your heart soar / If you try to please everyone / You will never grow to be more.

- Allie Michelle; Explorations of a Cosmic Soul

[etthheerreeaall-blog]

Act Like a Lady (Part 2)

...

Not the kind of red I got when

A cute boy would look my way

But the kind that looked like

A fresh rose pressed

Upon my face

Act like a lady

Then came my eyes

Always looking too big and frightened

A black pen that spewed liquid

Encased them like a raccoons

Making them smaller

And more confident

And then the cakes of powders

Coming in every color of the

Rainbow

I swirled the blacks and blues onto my eyes

As if I was Matisse himself

Being able to transform myself

From the girl I knew

Into a work of art

Act like a lady

I think being art is being a lady

Right Mother?

Then came the finishing touch

To my canvas

A magic wand

With the ability to take my

Once almost nonexistent

lashes

And extend them until they touched my eyelid

Making the swirls of colors

Upon my face brighten and

Radiate beauty

Act like a lady

Mother would understand if she saw

I felt like myself

at last

I finally cut my hair too

Before it hid my new and big

Necklaces

Pearls were my favorite

Act like a lady

I look back on this time

As the point in my life where

I finally found happiness

Mother said to be the best version of myself

I could be

So Mother must be proud

Because now

I had a voice

I was free from the hate I was born into and

from the hate she tried so desperately to shield me from

She told me to

Act like a lady

So that is exactly what

I did.

-Kendall Lindsey Bousquet

[etthheerreeaall-blog]

Act Like a Lady (part 1)

Act Like a Lady

I was born into a world of hate

My mother used to tell me

To just try and be the best version of myself

I could be

We had very different versions of

What that meant

You see

My mother always urged me to keep quiet

To act like a lady

To me

Acting like a lady was almost like being

One of the slaves I grew up seeing across the street

I watched my dad

He was a good man

I envied him

How come he was allowed to go out

To be loud and

Say what he wishes

Sometimes he would drink too much

Mother didn't like it

I thought it was funny

I always liked his hair too

Mine was too long but

Mother didn’t let me cut it

Again

I had to

Act like a lady

I used to see the really rich ladies

With their faces painted in colors of reds and pinks

And their dresses fitting them so elegantly

Not like mine which looked almost

Like a potato sack

I always dreamt that one day I wouldn’t have to

Act like a lady

anymore

As the years rolled on

And the country fought to try and

Free itself

From the hate that enveloped it

It began to change

It was like the world

Became brighter

And the hate that once lived there

Was replaced

I always kept my Mother in mind

And did my best to

Act like a lady

But first came the clothes

These dresses of all shapes and colors

I always liked the red

For once in my life it felt like

My body could

Breathe

No more potato sacks that covered me

From head to toe

I still kept it in mind

Act like a lady

But then came this little metal tool

My eyebrows had always been big before

But now I was able to shrink them into

Thin little lines

above my already too big

Eyes

I knew Mother wouldn’t have minded that change

Very much

She always used to say that I had dad’s eyebrows

Dark and bushy

I was following her instruction

Act like a lady

But then came the parties

Night after night I went out

And was finally able to taste the magic

That use to make my dad talk funny

The drinks the music the lights

I felt like a kid at an amusement park

I saw the woman I use to

Envy

With their faces covered in colors

Of all kinds

Act like a lady

But I had to try

First came the lips

Suddenly everywhere I went all I saw was

Hearts

Lips were no longer lips

They were these small dainty hearts

In all different colors of

Reds and pinks and purples

I always liked the red

Act like a lady

But

Don't ladies like hearts?

The red spread into my cheeks

A light and delicate powder

-Kendall Lindsey Bousquet