She’s wearing that little black dress
You said she looked so beautiful in
Though she never believed you then
She examines her body in the mirror
Bruises all over her arms; a scraped knee
She’s a mangled tigress
In a sea of picture perfect kittens
Wearing fancy party dresses
Their little bodies in tact
She doesn’t wear shoes
She can’t run in at any given moment
She examines oceans of flawlessness
Only to stare at the scar beneath her chin
The motorcycle burn on her shin
She’s earned every single stripe
She consoles herself; licking wounds
‘cause domestication’s for the tame
She always colors outside the frame
She’s learned to scan every room
For any movement resembling her own
Still she’s only met a couple with that wilderness
A few with a will too strong to harness
Like her, they’re hard to hold onto
Disappearing when the night wind blows
Endangered species learn to be unreliable
A heavy adaptation to ensure their survival
So she stalks her loneliness
Balks at the emptiness
Learns to sit still in the darkness
She seeks a hunter
Someone of her kind
Not to tame her
Not to maim her
Not to capture or contain
But maybe to see the beauty
Outside the frame
For now in her little black dress
Waiting for the night’s wind to move her
Finally believing she too, is beautiful
Through the scars and the marks
Each indicating from where she came from
And how far she’s come
After all,
Her hunter will know her
By her stripes
