The Inevitabilities of Being Her

By: Maddie Lefkowitz

I begin with a simple and well-known truth

All intellectuals who walk the earth eventually stumble upon the question of

The Things That Make Us Ourselves

And where they come from

And though a feverish debate

of Tabula Rasa vs Behaviorism can be fascinating in its own right

I ask, instead, that you ponder

The idea of

‘She’

You must understand

While my country was founded on principles

Of freedom and equality

My heritage

Is a thing most twisted and tragic

For in the eyes of my people’s God

I will always be less than

My beauty, my dark eyes and curly hair and thick lashes, are not my own

They were given to me by my ancestors

My body in all its holiness and frailty is not my own

It snaps like a toothpick easily

And while the word ‘no’ should be so simple to say….

My voice is not my own

I will never be loud enough

I belong to whoever claims me