Red is Not the Color of a Sin.

I bleed in red,

And so, the women you worship

once did.

Many thanks to the commercials

fond of color swapping red for blue,

or for water white, or just something new:

Like they dislike the red I bleed.

But for a thirteen-year-old he and she

might just believe it all to be true.

Ashamed of that which is real,

she is made to hide it

- Within dense layers of coal-black plastic.

The world has left me drained,

relating my impatience to hormonal shifts;

Loud voices teaching me to keep it a secret,

and that it was all dirty.

Like a sunflower, I will bloom on the gift of Motherhood;

this red leaves behind.

Like a sunflower, 

I will bloom amidst these closed minds all around;

Affirming in bold:

RED IS NOT THE COLOUR OF A SIN.

I bleed in red,

And so, the women you worship

once did. Period.

                                                                          - J.