Don’t be a fool
I was a woman afraid of my joy and my beauty
A woman afraid of my femininity
I was confused by the magazines
By the posters at the mall
And the girls walking down the street
I prefer not to feel like a piece of meat
But that’s just me

My feminine expression rests comfortably in my masculinity

Some girls got the fight of a thousand wars inside their cores
But they don’t know how to move
So I say to them…

There are some people who want to hurt you
Learn how to protect yourself
There are some people who want to hurt you
There are some people who don’t have hearts
It doesn’t matter how much you love them
They’re missing an organ

Don’t be a fool
There are some people who want to hurt you
Don’t be a fool
There are some people who don’t give a fuck how you feel
Your body, mind, and soul they will steal
If you let them.

So maybe don’t wear your earbuds as you’re walking around the city
I knew of a young woman who didn’t drop to the ground because she didn’t hear the shots fired
her friends survived
she expired.

Cut off your senses and you may be dead meat
Round the corners of the building real wide cuz you don’t know who could be waiting on the other side
Wake up. Wake up. Sleep walk and you might get cut.
Are you awake?
Can you make a fast break
From a threat
In those shoes?
In that skirt?
If you can’t run fast
They might get you first.

Don’t be a fool
There are some people who want to hurt you
Don’t be a fool
There are some people who don’t give a fuck how you feel
Your body, mind, and soul they will steal
If you let them.

If someone goes out of their way to tell you it’s a “safe space”
Maybe don’t trust them.
No need to live scared
Just be aware and be in shape
So you can run the fuck away from danger

Did your mom ever tell you being polite could be dangerous?
Like when we let the stranger in
Even though he didn’t feel safe to us?
Reflexively welcoming instead of responding to our gut
Our true voices small
Weak in self trust
I don’t mean to say this is every woman’s story
But it’s far too common
To be ignoring