Make a change, be the change

Make a change, be the change

Punching, Slapping,
Shooting, Strangling,
Killing;
Actions that take part in relationship violence;
Day by day,
Around the world, are girls,
Victims,
Abused by their lovers;
Their “soul mates”;
Minute by minute,
Innocent women
Dying,
Suffering,
Crying;
Shredded to pieces,
Left scattered in the wind;
Feeling shame and humiliation,
Nowhere to turn to;
No one to tell,
Just lost in the unknown.

The bells, bells, bells;
Bringing happiness to all,
But one;
The woman,
the object to power for him;
No smile,
Just pale and melancholy;
Against her will,
Not able to choose,
No one makes the decision, but Him;
He is the Male,
The controller of the house;
The Alpha;
He is her Father.

Innocence being robbed,
From her very body;
Blood gushing,
Split apart,
Sold,
Lost,
Cold,
Scared,
Taken.;
From a child to a tool,
She is traded for pleasure,
For lust,
For money;
Childhood ripped from her tiny, shaky hands,
She is not a virgin anymore;
She is a prostitute,
A target,
for human trafficking.

Here I am,
At home,
Safe with my family,
Family who care,
about me;
What about the girls my age across the globe?
My sisters,
Not by blood,
But by gender;
Why can’t they have the opportunities I do?
Why do we have to live in a world full of hate and discrimination?
Why can’t we have the same respect Men do?
Why, why, why?
We,
The givers of life,
Are disregarded,
Disrespected,
And discriminated against;
I call upon the good men around the world;
I call upon the strong women throughout the world;
Link arms everybody!
-Make a change,
-Be the change.

Guest post written by my daughter Chandler Waldal

Chandler is 5 days shy of her 14th birthday… she wrote this poem for her 8th grade honors English class.