You Can Tell Me Poem by Jenna Dandurand

you can tell me
how to think.
you can tell me
how to love.
it doesn't mean i will
listen,
so just waste your breath.
you can shout out to the heavens
how i should feel.
it won't make a
difference,
you can't rule me.
it's my time to go
and be myself.
you're only pulling us all down
in your quest for control.
i'm not just like you;
i'm a different girl.
who cares what you think
if it goes against this grain?
you can tell me
how to talk.
you can tell me
how to be.
doesn't mean i will
listen,
i won't miss a beat.
your words are in one ear
and out the other.
you can't chain me
down to the wall.
i'm my own person,
it's not your call.
just leave me
alone,
just leave me
alone.
i'm not yours
to control.
you can tell me
how to try my hardest.
you can scream it
in my ears.
your black slate of words
can't reach me,
it's my heart that you want,
not my head.
i'm not sensible
like you,
so just forget it.
your empty little words
hold no fear for me.
tell me when you
learn how to show
that you're not a robot.
maybe then i'll hear you,
but until you don't have a
heart.
reach me down in there.
until then,
you're dead to me.
you can tell me
how to obey.
you can tell me
how to feel.
doesn't mean i will
listen,
and i never will.