To Be A Woman
by Michael Doyle

It would be false to paint tranquility.
A woman's world is one of complexity.
Phrased in its phases, it takes a distortionist.
To be a woman is to be a contortionist.

In the push-and-pull world of always there,
It's plain to see there is a lot to fear. 
But one must always paint a smile even when moody.
To do otherwise, would be to act rudely. 

To be a woman is to show suitable restraint
In the live-a-day world filled with constraints.
Even in maturity, the world demands she's wild,
Mixing guilt and innocence as a forever child.

Always pushing for a commitment to individuality,
She has to give in to the demands of femininity.
The moments of a woman's day lead to entanglement,
A splash of fantasy helps keep the engagement.

So much of the conformity is plainly staged ruse.
The clothes worn are at times socialized abuse.
With painted faces, only the bodies tell it all.
Fascination and repulsion concert in response and call.

To be a woman is to show suitable restraint
In the live-a-day world filled with constraints.
Even in maturity, the world demands she's wild,
Mixing guilt and innocence as a forever child.

Patterns collected become images meant for hooking
The viewer's eyes to always be forever looking.
This false sense of self becomes a woman's identity,
Disguised as it is the shape of divine femininity.

A woman's life has its sincere moments of stark clarity.
She sees herself in others always seeking after sincerity.
Her life's symphony plays as a tune quite ill at ease
She reflects in a mirror doomed to want very much to please.

To be a woman is to show suitable restraint
In the live-a-day world filled with constraints.
Even in maturity, the world demands she's wild,
Mixing guilt and innocence as a forever child.

          ... as one small soul who wants it all....

(c) May 31, 2025   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved