We Need Stories

Girls have vanquished monsters
since time’s beginning

When green-eyed demons
spout barbed words
and gnarled ogres
allude suggestively,
sharp-witted tongues slay
and no-nonsense looks slice
unworthy opponents

We hold our own
following bread crumbs
until the unexpected is well-trod

We open crypts
and bury the jealous words
and the U and I vowels
that set us apart
from One and We

We shine light on truths
holding lanterns
of our past under scorching fires
until our path forward clears

We have swum in our own tears
drunk the saltiness of earth’s oceans,
quenching our thirst
to rise above
bowing our heads
only to receive gold,
circular against our chests
and round upon our brows.

These are the stories we know
the ones we need to tell

Jennifer Guyor Jowett teases stories and writers into being. She is the author of Into the Shadows, a middle grade historical fiction based on true-life events, the creator of the #dogearedbookaward, and a defender of fierce girls. Jennifer is a 7th/8th ELA teacher in the mitten state.