Little one, see her walking,
See that she is strong.
Strong enough for heels or flats or boots, to stabilize
Dress or tights or pants, any size,
Eyes on the prize,
Little one, memorize
The way she walks to normalize
Abnormality. The way she seeks to humanize
The half that came from the rib. The way she tries
To visualize a world in which the strong
Are recognized, emphasized, immortalized,
In which dreams are as easily realized
For her half as they are for the guys,
In which her existence justifies
Itself. Little one, she is wise
To use her strength to energize
And mobilize her half, until it satisfies
Their hearts in the eyes
Of those who walked ahead, to legalize
Their right to rise
Beside the other half, and characterize
Her as strong.
There is still much to do, little one.
She must be strong enough to rationalize
Respect, to vocalize
Goals, to supervise
Change. But, little one, she is strong
Enough to carry life.
She will not teach the lies.
She will not allow the other half to trivialize
Or stigmatize or patronize.
She will not be traumatized.
She will love.
Little one, be strong.