My daughter
We raised you
To speak words
We knew would never find a home in our mouths
Because we were raised
With honey poured down our throats
So we would always sound sweet
We watched our mothers suffer in silence
Swallowing their pain
So we did the same
And learned to enjoy the taste
Letting our womanhood be defined
By the volume of our silence
If we let misogyny slip from our tongues
Know our mothers birthed their fears
When they pushed us out into this world
Know we birthed our fears
When we pushed you into this world
Know it is not intentional
This is all we have known
My daughter
When we let fear take grasp of our throats
Challenge us
Because we did not raise you to be like us
We raised you to be much more
- t.t
