Womanhood

When I was younger, I used to want to grow up-

to become a woman.

When you're a child, you have so many rules to follow:

Don't touch this, don't touch that.

You have to be in bed by 9.

You can't play with your brother. 

But when I grew up,

became a woman,

became free,

I was not as free as I thought. 

My mother let me out into the world, 

but not without her rules: 

Don't drink this, don't drink that.

You have to walk with a friend.

You can't go with people you don't know.

And although I was free to explore the world,

I was not free in the world. 

To the world, I was simply 

another object, servant, slave to him.

I grew up with rules,

since childhood,

but when the rules changed from 

Don't draw on the walls to 

Don't leave your drink unattended,

was when I realized I grew up.