Single Ladies

All the single ladies:
Put your hands up.
If you’ve had enough of this “being single” stuff-
Enough of empty promises and emotional handcuffs;
Of one night stands and justdon’tgiveafuck - type "relationships"
If you’ve had enough of arrangements, with no strings attached -
Of waiting patiently for the Creator to deliver your match.

Single.
Ladies.

If you’re tired of people asking why you’re not married yet?!
If you find yourself in a rut - quietly wrestling with regret.
Single ladies: Put. Your. Hands. Up.

Being single sure makes a nice jingle with Beyonce bouncin’ in a jumpsuit
But I’m so tired of women frontin’ -- like they’re not in hot pursuit
As if landing a spouse wasn’t really in your plan...
Girl, please - you know your lonely ass wants a man.

You can continue “doing you” and make the case to celebrate -
Yet another weekend come and gone without a single date.
Sorry, sis’ - I can’t relate.
And I’m not even trying to hate -
It’s a challenge sometimes to convey the simple fact at hand:
I’m a STRONG, empowered woman, yet and still - I need a man...
I actually pity single ladies who don't quite understand.

As it turns out, fellow singles - I’ve come to call your bluff
on that bullshit “I’m-okay-with-being-single” lame rebuff.
I know it’s hard to face, because we’ve been oh so convincing
Yet the superwoman myth actually needs some sound dispensing.
Which doesn’t equate frailty or admission of defeat.
Because the truth of the matter is - relationships?...
Well, they can be kinda sweet.

I’m talking grownfolk love, trust, honor, and commitment -
I’m talking compromise, accepting faults, and working through resentment.
I’m talking good times and bad times, laughter and tears -
Affection that keeps you grounded through the succession of years.
Through thin line trials and “help me, Jesus” tribulation,
I need a witness for 'no one-can-love-you-like-me' revelation.
And when the dust has settled - and a brand new day has dawned,
I’m talking unconditional love that will wrap you in its arms.

And I know I’m not alone.

Single ladies - admit it, we’re vexed with lingering questions and insecurities-
About our single state of being and what precisely it all means.
So this is for my single ladies who have finally had enough.
Who are tired of pretending - who are always acting tough.
Because there’s something divinely inspired when two beings become one.
Single ladies - please excuse me, if you don’t get where I’m coming from.

When it comes to playing solitaire - see, I’m really not a fan.
Ladies, know it’s not a sin to be the great woman behind a good man.
And honestly, real talk -- if you truly have his back,
I have a hard time figuring out exactly where else you'd be at.
But let’s not miss the point - this poem is not about submission.
I’m just reminding single ladies not to give up or to give in.
Persevere through the terrain that we all know as single life,
A necessary path traversed from single girl to wife.

Single ladies. Put your hands up.


Copyright by Chandra Montgomery, 2011