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Jessica Evans Oct 2014
When I was younger
My favorite movie was Legally Blonde
I thought she was pretty and blonde and courageous
Now I see her as an idol to look up to, a feminist
When I was little
I never let my dad open doors for me
He told me it was chivalry
I told him I had two fully capable hands
My childhood heroes were Rosa Parks
And Harriett Tubman
I thought they were braver than any man
We learned about in history
When I was fifteen I had my first boyfriend
He called my babe and woman
I dumped him
When I turned eighteen
I learned that feminist isn't a ***** word
I learned about men who wanted to wear dresses
And he strength of women who were once men
Women who are beaten and ***** because of who they are
I learned that feminism isn't just about equal pay
It's about equal rights for all
I learned that being a woman isn't defined by your ******
And that everyone should be able to express themselves
We want to smash the glass ceiling
While talking down gender roles
Stay at home mom's
Become stay at home dad's
Feminism isn't about women ruling the world
It's about a world full of expression
Without any fear
When I was young I didn't know I was a Feminist
But now I'm gonna scream it from the rooftops
254

“Hope” is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—

I’ve heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.
1705

Volcanoes be in Sicily
And South America
I judge from my Geography—
Volcanos nearer here
A Lava step at any time
Am I inclined to climb—
A Crater I may contemplate
Vesuvius at Home.
Jessica Evans Oct 2014
I’m sorry that I laugh too loud
And tend to make a scene
I’m sorry about the way my
Words stumble across my tongue
I’m sorry about the dumb things I say
And how forgetful I can be
I talk about my hair too much
And my ex
And the weather
I’m sorry I complain a lot
About all the little things
I’m sorry you have to tell me
For gods sake stop saying sorry!
But in a society where saying the wrong thing
Gets you laughed at or ridiculed
“I’m sorry” is my only weapon
They laugh because I don’t understand
The innuendo they just made
I laugh with them
Between muttered “I’m sorry”s
I don’t let my face disclose
The pain of each chuckle at my expense
Weeks later I still hear it echo
As I relive my stupidity
So I’m sorry that I think too much
And remember everything you’ve ever said
I’m sorry I can’t let things go even after all this time.
-JE
Jessica Evans Oct 2014
**** Prince Charming
I’m not some damsel in distress
waiting for a Prince to save me
I’m not a maiden in a tower
waiting to let down my hair
I’m not dancing away in a forest
Singing about how my prince will come
You see, I am a princess but
I’m not in distress
I am a princess but
I don’t need to be saved
I am a princess but I most definitely
Do not sing.
So go rescue someone else
From a dragon or a witch
Take her away from her tower
And sweep her off her feet
And remember, if you ever come back for me
You gotta be a princess
To storm this castle
-JE
  Sep 2014 Jessica Evans
Tupelo
I never considered myself one for the books,
A pen felt clumsy in my hands,
Something too delicate to touch,

You introduced me to my first romance,
Tales of rivers and sweet words of Hughes,
Pages were my optics, my eyes danced in the light,

Nights turned into highways of jazz and beat poet longings,
Kerouac and Ginsberg whispering into my ear
of corrupted ivy manifestos,

Maya told me to sing, I did.
My love for her still echoes in her passing,
Set sail to the open waters where Neruda lies,
sonnet 17 afloat upon the tides,

You knew my addiction before I ever got high on the ink,
Drifting across the sentences in the midnight hours,
A prayer in thanks of what you gave to me
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