You asked her if she'd love you if you were a girl
She said "Possibly"
You decide to take your chances

You dig through the attic to find one of her old dresses
It's frilly, rosewood and garnet colored with a black lace
You're thrilled when it fits like a glove

You run downstairs to show her and twirl to show her how nice the skirt still looks
She said you look decent
You nearly squealed with joy

Dinner was calmer than usual
Papa was confused by the sudden wardrobe change
But he saw that you were happy so he stayed quiet

Before bed you dig out a nightgown
Its pale pink and white
It's itchy but you don't care

Mama takes you shopping
You ask her for whatever pinkest, frilliest things you can find
She lets you have them

You've never been a fan of pink
It's too bright and hurt your eyes most of the time
But girls are supposed to like pink so you fill your closet with the color

You ask mama to do your nails all pretty like hers
She says okay
You see her smile if only for a millisecond

Your hair reaches your shoulders now and it's starting to itch
Papa volunteers to cut it
Mama says no and gives you pigtails instead

She still gets angry at you
But not as intense as she used to
It's worth all the eye strain

Mama starts buying you dolls
You put your train set away to make room for them
Perfect girls only play with dolls anyway

Papa starts worrying once he saw you putting the train away
You tell him you just prefer dolls now
You spend the rest of the night at mama's side

Mama's been happier ever since you made you change
That's why you brush Papa off when he asked if you're okay
He's just jealous that Mama likes you better now

Boys at school tease you more than usual
They pull at your now longer hair
They stain your dress

You don't give up
They don't understand
They can't understand what it's like to work for your mother's love

Block out the name calling and just bat your eyes
You're mama's perfect little girl
No one will change that