Heightened

my type has always been tall

my first boyfriend was 6 feet in 6th grade

my first kiss on tip toes

my first love shelved his heart yards above me

As a girl with a big personality

I was taught

chase boys I won’t overpower

taught

date tall

be dust

so he can sweep you off your feet

forget the ground

forget standing

forget you can stand

girls with big personalities 

learn to skydive

without parachutes

we are taught

if you want them to love you

put away your stilettos

put away the words wrangling your tongue

be small

I learned to love boys feet above me

plummeting skyscrapers

who buried me alive

I was a continent to be conquered

catastrophe to be handled

A deformity

mouth swollen with words I forgot to swallow

do not feed the bitch

do not brush her fangs

do not love me

only what you can make me into

the right guy could hold my ugly back

Back when I was four

I wrote in my diary

I like Brandon. He’s tall.

Did I want to make him mine

or just become his?

girls with big personalities

grow up growing in

swallowing silence

prescribed scoliosis to slouch our voices

I want to stand up straight

I want to stand up out of my seat
stand out
outside this ribcage frame

stand tall with an equal

not a boy in men's clothing

5 feet and 6 inches of honesty

so grounded I forget gravity

pierce the atmosphere with my own ambition

I'm done making myself small so men feel big.

Tonight I'm going to put on a pair of heels

that make ass look great

even if I’m a foot taller

I’m done reaching down