The Girls I See — The Girls I Know
The girls I see,
Meant only to be on display.
Naked or not.
The girls I see,
Not valued for their minds.
Only their bodies.
The girls I see,
Who are “cute, sweet, adorable.”
Before they are called brave, smart, compassionate.
The girls I see,
Who get one tiny wall of sports clothes
When the boys have a full section.
The girls I see,
Who are pushed to dresses, make-up, jewelry
“Pretty things.”
The girls I see,
Who are not the leaders,
But the secretaries — pen in hand,
Taking notes,
Not making decisions.
The girls I see,
Who should be “seen and not heard.”
Apparently, they have no thoughts or feelings that matter.
The girls I see,
Pushed to a dark corner
Without the powerful voice they have.
The girls I know,
Brave,
Smart,
Resilient,
Compassionate,
Creative,
Capable,
Strong,
Themselves.
The girls I know,
Who never give up.
The girls I know,
Who don’t have to cover up.
They can be themselves.
The girls I know,
Who lead the group
Instead of taking notes.
The girls I know,
Who share their mighty voices.
The girls I know.
We are more than the sum of our parts.
And so are you.
Caroline is 12 years old and lives in Seattle, Washington. She is passionate about nature and loves to capture its wonder in her photographs. She also loves lacrosse, singing in choir, playing guitar, and marine biology.