I'Ve Lost My Innocence Poem by Josilinia Plyman

A woman does not melt
into sight from the rain.
A woman is born
in the rush of the flood.

I don't talk to my family anymore.
I've left old friends behind.
I don't dance like I used to.
The church choir has an empty seat.

I don't tell stories laced with hope.
I don't write down the world.
I don't dream in pastels.
I don't climb tree tops.

I have stopped.
I have lost...
everything I was.
I am a woman now.

I have been born of smoke
and cigarette ashes.
I was baptized in the spirit,
but washed in spirits.
I've lost my innocence.

I am a woman now.