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