Brave girls are not always the perfect ones.
They don't need to fight dragons or win wars.
They do not always know when they are bested.

They are brave for riding on subway trains,
and for speaking when they don't know what they mean to say.
They are brave for feeling, hoping, praying.

Brave girls don't always need luck,
but they know a dash of it won't hurt.
They aren't unafraid; they are not sure of themselves.

They cry more often than most,
and they live in paperback fantasies they created
in their elementary school days.

Brave girls try new things often,
but still fear change when it comes for them.
The know it is the way of the world, but they resist.

They love unconditionally, and that is the bravest thing of all.
They don't always know where they'll end up,
but they cross their fingers and wait.