Tribe

You are one of me
Raised in a house of woman
Periods and mood swings
And no balance
To the tears and loves lamented
Dresses, wigs and make-up
Incognegress on the bus
Looking straight forward
Less the driver looks too long
Or looks too less
For who doesn’t want to be desired

You are one of me
Giving off that sense of indifference
Ankles crossed at the knee
And hosiery snug and trim
Just a hint of slip at the hem
Cause your momma raised you
Not to go round bare-legged
Torpedo breast ala Jane Russell
Catching the glance of married men
And the scorn of their wives
And the wishes of pubescent children

You are one of me
Waiting for the pad of a man’s thumb
To wipe tears across your cheek
To caress your face lovingly
I cannot love hard enuff
To cover my scars
And neither can you
For every new man
Picks at the edges of each one
Until you scream with the relief
Of having it ripped off, again

You are one of me
Thinking you deserve the pain
Of the women who has never
Known the luxury of
A man’s unconditional love
So we engage badly
In search of the filling
For the many wholes in our soul
Our tribe closes in on itself
And it is the rare man
That can breach our perimeter