I made mud pies
and climbed trees
but there was always pink
Barbie and Princess dresses
No safety in the feminine
No safety in the pink
Pink that I was expected to be
You have brothers – they said
They will protect you
Pink never protects you
I went to my brother when
The man renting a room in our house
Made me pull down my pink panties
I went to my brother
When my mother’s boyfriend held me
Against the kitchen wall
I couldn’t find the power in myself
Men - they would hurt me
Men - they would protect me
I was simply there
In pink
First Publication rights to A Think Slice of Anxiety -