Talk to Me Now

He said, "You've gotten tough"
 'Cause my tone was curt.
 Yeah and when I'm approached in a dark alley,
 I don't lift my skirt.
 In the city, self-preservation is a full time occupation.
 I'm determined to survive on this shore.
 You know I don't avert my eyes anymore.
 In a man's world, I am a woman by birth.
 And after nineteen times around,
 I have found they will stop what you are worth.
 Talk to me now.
 I played the powerless in too many dark scenes,
 And I was blessed with a birth and a death,
 And I guess I just wanted some say in between.
 Don't you understand?
 In the day to day and the face to face,
 I have to act just as strong as I can
 Just to preserve a place where I can be who I am.