No More

I was born a female You were born a male None of us had a say in the matter of our birth Neither did we chose from what part of this earth For in His own image we were created From the day of our birth Our differences were laid bare From the onset, our paths were set Same community, same culture Just because of a different genetic makeup My chores were many even from that early age From sunrise to sunset Do this, do that Duties allocated differently Yet very unpropotionate Like a flower I grew Well watered and aired Closely monitored and censored Under the watchful eyes of the female folk I grew Until my world came crashing down My identity was not my own My success measured by another My dreams given a barely there nod Then dismissed altogether Seen as not important I was viewed as property A measure of wealth An item to be passed on from one to another A vessel for the pleasure of others Like goods in a marketplace I was traded Just before I blossomed The bud that was me Was forcefully opened My petals recklessly plucked away Just before I was to share my beauty with the world My colour and fragrance was vanquished What wrong did i do? That I am treated differently That my dreams and purpose in life To you does not matter An item of trade to you I am. I scream and cry in silence In constant pain my days pass by With scars that have not healed Despite the physical pain years ago What wrong did I do? I will stay silent no more With a loud voice I will say no more In my actions the practice will be no more From harmful cultural practices Join me in saying 'No more!'