Pretty girl, don’t run

pretty girl, don’t run.

we are creatures born chasing the sun,

warriors capable of withstanding blood

ripping armors and shredding hearts—

we are not

 mere flowers

delicately, helplessly laying on the ground.

pretty girl, don’t run.

our choices dictate our time

not the rules of a hundred men

all with ideas

and pictures

and hopes

of who a woman can be

of who a woman cannot be

we are not cattle

raised in a barn of masculine ego

we are our own egos.

pretty girl, don’t run.

we are who we are

survivors rising from the debris of society

unlocking chains from generations of insanity

we are

not lesser species.

so, pretty girl, don’t run.

there are monsters and demons and men and women

who will tell you

not to do

what you’re meant to do

but you know

you know

that we are creatures

chasing the sun

and our hearts will lead us

to a world where we can speak

and seek

and freely think

don’t run, pretty girl.

you are a creature born to make things happen.