You'll Grow Out Of It
Snips and snails and puppy dog tails That's what little boys are made of
And don't you mind the pigtails pulled "That just means he likes you!"
Now little girls They're sugar and spice And everything nice
And don't you mind the bitter almonds Buried in the bake
They say: this, or that Snails, or spice They say: boys are tough! "Boys don't cry!" They say: girls are nice! "Girls don't fight!"
They say They say They say "You'll grow out of it"
And make a world That grows you in To fit in a box
Pink or blue Girls vs boys "Action figures" or "dolls" Arbitrary schisms
And I think of a cousin And the toy kitchen set That he loved so much That it stuck with him Forever
And I think of the toy guns Sitting in a drawer That my mother never let me have Until I bought my own
And I think of the baby blankets Crocheted with love For a cousin's child not yet born
I think of the square of gray wound with rainbows Harder to stain, easier to clean That I cursed at And grumbled over And packed in a shoebox Ready to gift
And I think of the lurid pink bobbles My grandmother works slowly With her tired hands Barely begun
I think of sitting with my cousin In my room Picking out colors
I think of my young hands Swift if clumsy And the hours spent
And I think of that pink blanket Barely begun Having waited to know An arbitrary pair of chromosomes Before the work could start
And I think of a baby not yet born
And I hope that they grow out of it.
