She was fragile,

as all babies are fragile.

Her neck, so weak, so small

couldn’t hold her head up high.

So she, like all babies, depended on others

To give her life, to give her love.

But she grew as all children grow,

her neck grew strong.

She held her head high,

she searched for futures in hidden corners,

she discovered the history of the past in the dirt.

And so baby became a child.

And unfortunately, child became woman,

and woman was taught to hang her head,

to bend her neck to fit under the statute of others, she was taught that a head held high was not a woman thing,

she was growing up in a world built only for men. And so woman coward, woman became nothing.

But woman too would not last

and as woman grew older

as her spine shrunk and curled

her neck strengthened,

her head began to lift as woman realized she could rise above the restriction of men.

And then those last moment

as the woman’s body was giving up,

She held her neck strong

she held her head high in her heart

she has nothing to ever be ashamed of.