The art of growing - rupi kaur graphic recitation about changing to womanhood.

his piece deals with the art of evolving from girlhood to womanhood. And the issues we face with it within the communities we live in.



more poetry: http://www.rupikaur.com/



instagram: http://instagram.com/rupikaur_



twitter: https://twitter.com/rupikaur_





i felt beautiful until the age of 12

when my body began to ripen like new fruit

and suddenly the men,

looked at my newborn hips with salivating lips

the boys didn't want to play tag at recess

they wanted to touch all the new and unfamiliar parts of me

the parts i didn't know how to carry

didn't know how to wear

tried to bury in my ribcage



boobs,

they said and

i hated that word

hated that i was embarrassed to say it

that even though it was referring to my body

it didn't belong to me

it belonged to them

and they repeated it like they were meditating upon it

boobs

they said

let me see yours

there is nothing worth seeing here

but guilt and shame

i try to rot into the earth below my feet

but i am still standing 1 foot across from his hooked fingers

and when he charges to feast on my half moons

i bite into his forearm

and decide that i hate this body

that i must have done something terrible

to deserve it



when i go home i tell my mother

that the men outside were starving

she tells me i must

not dress with my

breasts hanging

said the boys will get hungry

if they see fruit

she tells me to sit with my legs closed

like a woman oughtta

or the men will get angry and fight

said i can avoid all of this trouble

if i just learn to act like a lady

but the problem is

that doesn't even make sense

i can't wrap my head around the fact that

i have to convince half the worlds population

that my body is not their bed

i am busy learning the consequences of womanhood

when i should be learning science and math instead

i like cartwheels and gymnastics

so i can't imagine walking around with my thighs pressed together

like they're hiding a secret

as if the acceptance of my own body parts

will invite thoughts of lust in their heads

i will not subject myself to their ideology

because

slut shaming is rape culture

virgin praising is rape culture

i am not a mannequin in the window of your favourite shop

you can't dress me up or

throw me out

you are not a cannibal

your actions are not my responsibility

you will control yourself



so the next time i go to school

and the boys hoot at my backside

i push them down

foot over their necks

and defiantly say

boobs

the look in their eyes

is priceless

Category

People & Blogs

License

Standard YouTube License