"Human Doll": The Writers' Spotlight

Human Doll

By: Ishmeet Dhillon and Darina Nestorova

The world told her to be kind,
But the world is not.
People told her to make herself pretty,
Not seeing who she really was.

Society told her to be perfect,
But in reality no one is.
She was pushed to do her best,
Even if she had to take a risk.

She tried so hard
To be what they wanted her to be,
Programming her into a living robot,
She found it was said, not done, easy.

They made her eat less,
Made her wear feminine clothes,
Pulled at her personality
Until it fit into a mold.

She fought and struggled
All night and day,
Making sure she was faultless,
Pushing her own wants away.

She wore the “pretty” dresses and heels,
And put on eyeliner every day,
Made sure her nails were always done,
And checked that no hair was astray.

No one really saw,
Her inner bruises and scars,
They just saw her doll-like face,
Only how she looked from afar.

But one day, she decided--no more!

She was done with the abuse
And ready to leave it all behind,
Because nothing was ever good enough,
No matter how hard she tried.

As the water in the shower ran
She wiped off her makeup
And took off her dress,
Ready to set herself free.

It was time to wash off her costume, the one forced onto her back.

As the thousands of days of eyeliner came off,
The nail polish started to crack,
The hair came loose,
And for once, she didn’t feel trapped.

Her concealer and foundation came off,
So did her necklace, rings, and earrings,
Her eyeshadow and lipstick smeared,
All studs out of their piercings.

She came out of her house
With her hair out and wild,
Wearing her thick, black, glasses,
That were no longer in style.

She walked down the street,
With her sneakers, not heels,
Wearing baggy jeans and her oversized shirt,
In which she felt free.

She shook the ground
As she came out to the light,
No longer just a robot,
She was ready to fight.

Told to become a housewife, she became an engineer.
Bullied to be skinny, she ate what she pleased.
Taught to submit, she stuck up for herself.

Ignored the world’s opinions,
Ignored society’s wants.

And she was as happy as ever,
For she was no longer a human doll,
Freed and strong, she now stands tall.

Do you want to have your writing published? Send us your work to get it featured and published in our Patch column! Submit work by emailing: writersspotlightpatch@gmail.com