When I was born, my mother gave me a pearl

It was flawless and shiny and beautiful and mine

As I grew she told me that my pearl was precious

And it was

She told me it was special

That I could do with it what I wanted

She said it was mine and no one could take it away from me

I kept it safely on my neck, so no one could take it away

When I was 16, a boy, a charming boy came by

He was sweet and kind, he told me so many nice things, until

Until he took my pearl

He smashed into thousands of pieces

He didn’t stop until it was nothing but an ugly dust

Then he lay the shards back in my outstretched hands

When I told people of his treachery 

They said I deserved it for displaying it so proudly

They said that’s what boys do

They blamed me for giving my pearl worth

They, who taught me the virtue of my pearl,

Now attacked me for seeing its value

And not the boy who hadn’t

Not the boy who took it from me and destroyed it while I watched helplessly