I Saw a Girl Change the World
/By Amanda G., age 17
I saw a girl shout
When they used her gender as an insult
the smoke in her eye
puddled like the smoke above cities
after the clangs of revolution
all the fight and spark—power
untamed, unfurling
They tried to tell her no
They laughed at her, a woman trying to be seen as human
Her fingers splayed wide--
the globe shuddered
and the girl’s smile carved out the sky…
I heard a girl laugh
when the world changed…
They tried to forget her
Tried to fill her with despair
But the weight in her giggles
was like the weight of a chant--
you may kill me
but I will not die
You may break me
But a woman is never broken
