Ode on a Pair of Proton Pistols

Any time she,

tried to be the superhero instead of the damsel,

tried to be the one coming home from work instead of playing in the kitchen with the plastic broom and dishes

wasn’t allowed to ride, play shortstop or stoke the fire

was chastised for going out alone at night, not knowing what it does to a man when she dresses like that, asking for it

“Because, you’re a girl.”

Any time she is told,

be rational, calm down, she is too emotional, she will balk when making difficult decisions

that being a mother is the only way to be fulfilled, feeling maternal is an instinct, it is something all women are meant to do

she is not as strong, is not as fast, cannot understand, that her body or brain are biologically inferior

“Because you’re a girl.”

For every,

mother who taught her daughter to apologise even when she was not at fault, to be agreeable, not to draw attention, to smile in preparation

time she was reduced to T&A, sent a dick pic in lieu of a hello, passed over professionally

woman who hoped that the way she lived would finally prove that it does not have to be this way

“first woman”, “only woman”, “never before woman” who shoulders the burden and the pride.

“Because you’re a girl.”

Holtzmann, laying waste to a host of shades,

the answer to them all

confident, decisive, fearless

all of us who refuse to listen when we are told--

She reminds us that being a girl is not a curse, not a threat, not an epithet.

Because a girl is not the only thing you are.