more than mere flesh and bone (and 3 other poems by Linda M. Crate)

regardless of how you

you want my milk and honey,
 and the ambrosia of 
 my promised land;
  
 but you don't want to respect me
 or my dreams and ambitions—
  
 somehow you think i am inferior
 just because i am a woman,
 i don't know who taught you that;
 but it's more than high time you unlearned it
  
 for it's not true—
  
 women are not lesser 
 than any men,
  
 and we should not be made to feel
 bad because we're too much of a woman
 or not a woman enough to meet
 someone's standards;
  
 who are you to tell anyone who they are?
  
 we define ourselves,
 and some women may not push back;
 others of us will—
  
 i know my magic and my power,
 and i won't waste my time
 on people who think they have any
 right to rule over me nor those who feel
 entitled to my time because no one owes you anything;
 and i will be who i am regardless of how you feel.