A girl with a pearl earring

She was a warped, distorted soul
aching to free herself
from the shackles of
societal norms.

Dress codes wrapped her
waist into an obedient size,
layers of silk around the girdle.
Her unruly hair
would not acquiesce
until she snuck it
under a bandana and a turban.

Oh what a riot she was
a storm inside her
yearning to break out
as she struggled to withhold
her equivocal expression
as calm as the pearl she wore
only to be betrayed
by her indiscreet impish lips.
©sicklypoetic