By MaggieforMargaret (Docstu3030@aol.com)
Date: 23 November 1999

Reclaiming

So many years ago
I gave something to a boy
Willingly enough
But without knowledge
Of a caress, of tenderness
I should have kept it a little longer

Over the years
My imagination turned
The boys into princes
The guys into kings
A monster in there somewhere, too
But not a single man

Husbands, lovers, even a friend
All leaving me unsatisfied
I turned to myself
I could take myself places
That no boy (prince), no guy (king)
Ever could

I reclaimed it
That thing I gave up so many years ago
That left a young girl's panties crimson
A vow of celibacy, not for religion
But for self-preservation
For a sense of control

I declared my sensuality
I declared me "woman"
I declared me..."me"
I have been waiting
Not for a boy (prince), a guy (king)
But for a man (just a man)

I am a virgin
And to you, I will give it
Freely, willingly, completely
With knowledge of who I am
Not a young girl, wife, or girlfriend
But a woman (just a woman)