They start early

Forming us

Into the shape that is most pleasing

For that is the role we are supposed to play.

They feed us thoughts

Every single day

Of the ideal we should reach

The impossible we should become.

They break our spirits

For our own good

Because a brood mare and a work horse

Should never think for themselves.

They forget our humanity

Blind to who we are

Because objects don’t have feelings

And our voices have been silent so long.

But we remember

Amidst the voices shouting us down

We hold our quiet knowledge

And refuse to let it go.

We break the mold

Formed for us by the others,

The opinions of strangers whom we have never met.

We shatter the rules and expectations

That have been fed to us at every turn

And step out of the yoke

Placed around our necks.

Remember, when you enslave us:

We will rise up

We will return more powerful than before

And with a long memory behind us.

– Caroline A. Slee