I Have a Shelf Life

It took me a long time to learn that men will only want you
for a period of time that suits them.

It seems I was past my use by date
Before I was born.

The movies always made it seem like
someone was going to love you for you who are,
No matter what.

I only wish that someone had told me from the start.

I often wonder what love would be like
if I didn't have a shelf life in a man's eyes.

If I was pretty and perky and normal.

Would I be worth loving if I preferred makeup over taxidermy,
And if my body wasn't pierced and painted?

If I didn't swear too much and watched what I ate,
Would I be good enough to be seen in public with?

If my body wasn't broken and I could give a man a child,
Would he want to keep me forever?

Maybe I shouldn't have been born,
But I'm here.
I like it here and I want to stay.

If only I was something permanent.
If only I was told when I was younger that some people will just never be loved.
If only someone told me that that was me.
And that I will always have a shelf life in a man's eyes.