A Woman Unchained

I am a woman
unchained,
ably capable
of breaking away
from the lines
you've drawn around me
that never fit
to begin with
because
she doesn't exist.

She is a fantasy
I will never be
and don't want to
because she is
a shadow
stick figure
with no words
or heart,
just scars
from where
she's cut,
trying to
escape
the mold
you shoved
her in
without even asking
if that was who she
wanted to be.

I am a woman
unchained
thanks to ever woman
who broke the mold
before me
and refused to submit
to your version
of what a woman
should
look like
say
dress like
be.

I proudly move
through this life
free to be who
I am
and not who
you think
I am.

I am a woman
unchained.