ISSN: 1941-4137
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
Yubeen (Karen) Lee is a senior attending Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Virginia. She is an aspiring poet from South Korea. Her work has been published in The Inflectionist Review, Teen Ink, and more. She has also won a National Silver Medal from the 2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
Also by Yubeen (Karen) Lee:
One of the Two
The Flowers
March 26, 2025
Why I Write to Girls
Because Barbie was the childhood dream
we spent nights dreaming of;
because boys step on blossoming flowers
in the name of snuffing beauty, as we pass
like spring leaves; because
the male gaze spins us into silk
and weaves us into tight dresses, femininity
melted and molded into lipstick bullets
and eyeliner wands; because
the frills of our long dresses should be
just as beautiful as the distressed denims
and torn jackets we grasp before men close
our closets; because we should have the choice to stay
clothed; because this is not Barbie’s world
and Kens do not gladly welcome us; because
we all deserve an apology but no one’s willing
to speak; because I am
not sad any longer — sorry has always been
the coward’s excuse, the corset of a male gaze
that can’t constrict us anymore.
Glass: A Journal of Poetry is published weekly by Glass Poetry Press.
All contents © the author.
All contents © the author.
