So I gave slam poetry a go

When I was a girl I was filled with a mountain of fallacies and superstitions

Mommy said she thought kissing a guy would lead to impregnation

That her first kiss was at the altar, sealing God’s permission

And so I went through teenage years hiding any sign I was a girl

Binding my breasts with cloth so my femininity wouldn't unfurl

The thought of being in a relationship would make me hurl

My grandma said to ward off men I should wear a pearl

They said

That to men women owed their devotion

Keep the house tidy , tend to chores, love without condition

If my husband looks away, it's my duty to do whatever means to make him stay

They preached my best strategy is to pray, pray and pray

And hope he comes home at the end of the day

That marriage should be girls primary aspiration

And bearing a child was life's greatest fruition

And divorce would inevitably lead to society's condemnation 

If your child turned out to be gay, that just means he's gone astray

It's my duty as a parent to help him find his way

Don't let him fray

As if changing a person was as easy as molding clay

They said

That all birds can be caged 

That with enough pressure even your core can be estranged

And then I aged,

somehow from all of it I was salvaged

Because who you are should be defined by what you do and stand for

Because some birds, those with the brightest color

are meant to keep flying, meant to soar

And that your essence, will always find a way to come out from your core

That intuition was installed for a reason, 

Follow your gut don't commit self treason

love isn't always enough - probably growing up's most painful lesson

That feelings can shift just as the leaves wilt with the passing season

I thought

Women are wholly entitled to define their ambition

And they cannot be faulted for the sacrifices they make for its completion

That sometimes the ideas they bear are their best form of creation

What we choose to be  as or whom to be with is merely fighting for liberation

It should not merit discrimination

A woman can be with a man, or another woman

Or to solitude she'll remain truthful 

She can marry her career, pursue her craft, chase after her passion; isn't that just as meaningful

As reciting vows in front of God, just as beautiful

And her life can be just as fruitful, blessings just as bountiful

When I was a little girl there was a word we dared not say growing up in fear of detention

The word masturbation

But isn't coming up with a thought so provoking, it touches your core and being, virtually mental masturbation

Maybe I ought to do it more, keep my brain in action

That some profundity comes out of this rhythmic traction 

Contributing to my life's magnification

And then hopefully, eventually universal expansion