Blue Dress

Photo by Stephen Leonardi on Unsplash

Stare at me
with a pregnant pause —

I am mistaken for your
curiosity, a Radiant Woman
in blue with a twisted
smile to reassure you
since your discomfort
is surely more distorted than
my young body would heal
quickly and quietly
hidden beneath folds
of blue fabric that now
itches as if it’s not mine
hanging onto me in places
that violate my trust
because My radiant beauty
could not possibly be mine
and I am a lie
ungrateful for the insult
that surely wasn’t meant to be
taken back.

I smile with kind eyes
masking the naivety
that I have just learned
my body is not my own.