When I have a daughter,
I will pinch her every day so her skin turns to rhino hide –
so she feels no pain when cornered by a stranger’s hand at play.
When I have a daughter,
I will lash her with my tongue –
so she is ready for it when someone else calls her names.
When I have a daughter,
I will cover her room with a thousand, wide-open cutout eyes –
so she is used to someone else’s stare.
When I have a daughter,
I will teach her to disappear into thin air, like a ninja –
so she is never is in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
When I have a daughter,
I will teach her of lust and of pleasure –
so she never feels any shame.
When I have a daughter,
I will bathe her in milk tinged with acid every day,
so when someone decides to attack her,
like a snake charmer, she is immune to the venom and its decay.
I don’t know why they did it, but I will never believe that there might be a rational reason. It’s plain violence.
And this piece that you’ve written, well, it speaks my heart. Kudos to you.
Since I have a daughter, this resonates so well. Thank you.
When I am a daughter
in the next life or in the countless lives
to be lived,
may I be born to a mother
who is as painstakingly honest and clear-minded
as you are in this poem.
When I am a mother, as I have been
and will be again,
may I nurture all beings
as the earth does
even now as we disregard and fail to return
her love
I love this and feel every word, every shred of emotion behind it. Please keep writing words that touch our hearts.
This is stunning Itisha – and resonates across countries, culture and gender.
When I have a son,
I will teach him what consent is, that no means no,
and that his hand must never be stranger’s hand at play.
When I have a son,
I will tech him that language
can be a tool of violence, and his should be a tool of respect.
When I have a son,
I will teach him that his beautiful eyes
are not to violate anyone with his stare.
When I have a son,
I will teach him to be that man,
who reacts to violence, harm and injustice, at any time or place.
When I have a son,
I will teach him that real men
don’t get pleasure from coercion or force.
When I have a son,
I will teach him not be be the problem
but to be the solution.
I hope you don’t have a daughter. The things you’ve planned sure looks painful.
[…] *Originally posted on La. Lit […]