bell jar beauty – ashley jane

you call her
pretty
tell her to
smile more
wear dresses
you put her on display
in your trophy case
keep her
behind the glass
a perfect specimen
of the female sex
you want her
to be seen but not heard
to honor and obey
to sit quietly
a bell jar beauty
that you take down
from the shelf
and show off
to your friends
but she is so much more
than pretty
and she wasn’t made
to obey
she was made for greater things
better things
bolder things
than stroking the ego
of a man
who doesn’t know her worth

Ashley Jane is an indie author from Alabama. She has been writing off and on since childhood, but she only started sharing her words a few years ago. She is the co-founder of FallsPoetry prompt, which runs on both Instagram and Twitter. She also co-hosts DarkLines and DrugVerse prompts on Twitter, and she is co-admin of Her Heart Poetry and Our Poetry Journey. She has two books of poetry out: Love, Lies and Lullabies and The Mums are Filled with Melancholy. She enjoys helps other authors pursue their dreams of publishing.

You can read more of Ashley’s writing on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress