My Weight in Gold

I don’t have to be your easy woman
to catch. Falling gently to the ground,
flirting with the half-rotten autumn leaves,
almost a tease to the lips of any and all
men.

No, my formerly sweet, as much as I may love
your ripe apple heart -- it’s time for you to learn
what gravity is. Simple, naked, outside the classroom
and unwritten in traditional textbooks. I won’t
do it for you this time.

I don’t have to spread myself thin
to fit in the Victorian dress of your taste
anymore.
The silver lining of your unembellished no
is the unconditional nature of my new-found
smile.

Feather-woman, that’s how you wanted me
but I know now how wrong you were-
for I am a lioness in labor, my curves always ready
to birth new light.