Taylor Reese Poet Free verse

Miss Mary Mack, All Dressed In Black

Miss Mary Mack, All Dressed in Black:

I have some complaints,
For who created the world.
I want to take it up with the saints,
Cause I want to be a girl.

But sadly I must say,
I think the saints are dead.
I get no reply,
Just voices in my head.

Every one is screaming,
You're a boy.
It sends me reeling,
When they say play sports instead.

The voices sound like water.
They fill my lungs with lies.
Just another hand upon my throat,
Wearing a disguise.

And yet a smaller voice,
Beneath the flood and fuss,
Says I know your name. I know your pain.
And you are one of us.

              ~Zyra~

♡Like0

Share Poem

---

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Alison A Smith October 5, 2026 at 1:58 PM This is a powerful free-verse piece: its plain, almost nursery-rhyme opening gives way to a much darker emotional undertow, making the title’s childhood echo especially poignant. The repeated “voices” create a claustrophobic chorus of outside expectation, while the water and drowning imagery makes that pressure feel vividly physical. Most moving is the final shift to the smaller voice—quiet, compassionate, and affirming. “I know your name. I know your pain. / And you are one of us” provides a deeply tender sense of recognition and belonging after the poem’s anguish.