Speak Girl, Speak

You have a voice.

You must find it.

Your voice is powerful.

You must use it.

You are young.

You are precious.

You are a girl.

I care about you.

When you don’t speak

I know what this means.

I encourage you

And I push you

To speak out child

OPEN YOUR MOUTH

You won’t like me.

Maybe you hate me.

But as a woman,

I must push you

and hopefully I

will encourage you

to use your voice.

Girls aren’t always

encouraged to speak

their minds and thoughts.

This can follow you

into your adulthood.

You may end up

letting others use you,

abuse and mistreat you,

and walk all over you,

because you don’t know

how to speak up

and speak out to

open your mouth

and use your voice

to protect yourself,

to defend yourself,

to stand up for yourself,

to scream for help,

to yell out boundaries.

Speak girl, speak.

Speak teenage girl, speak.

Speak lady, speak.

–by Maria Mocha © 2020