I Wore A Dress Too Short Today Poem by James McLain

I wore the dress my mother chose,
Soft as spring, its petals red,
Yet every step betrayed my pose,
A quiet shame, a silent dread.

The whispers spread like rippling streams,
Through halls that echoed laughter's sting,
And I, caught in a web of dreams,
Could feel the weight of everything.

In class, the air was thick with stares,
The world a blur, my thoughts displayed,
A shadow brushed my bleeding heart—
A hand, unbidden, grazed my wrist.

I dared not bend; the ground would see,
The fragile fault my garment bore,
Each moment stretched eternity,
Till tears became my silent friend.

Oh, mother, did you know the cost
My beauty, frought with innocence?
A fleeting grace, a freedom lost,
A heart eclipsed I shan't defend.

Tonight, beneath the moon's embrace,
I shed the dress, its bloom now gray,
And wonder if the stars could trace
The girl I was before today?