When girls are hungry for knowledge,

We should feed them

When they go hunting through forests and climbing up trees, sniffingfor the tendrils of the pomegranate breeze in search ofthe fruit that tastes of wisdom and feels like discovery is melting on your tongue… (pause)

We--should breathe support into their lungs and tell them not to worry

That the stars would be honored to guide them through the darkness because if your quest is for progress you, -will never go hungry

When girls are starving for knowledge,

We should not strike them down.

Should not thunder ragefrom the heavens and kick them out of their gardens,should not hand out punishments that last for eternities, should not ever dare to label their curiosity perversity, We-

Should not punish her

She just wanted to learn,

Threw open palms to the sky as she reached for the apple but they only saw her middle finger so they caged her in a chapeland her blood would stain glass for centuries, She-

Was dangerous. (rising)

Too dangerous for their world so she was hurled her through the gates, there would be no glory for the girl who dared to challenge her fate,

Instead-- they changed her story,and we are taught of someone else. Eve, was far too easy, the woman followed anything, took anything, let anything into her mouth, … (PAUSE)

She should have known better

Should not have listened to that serpent,

Should not have gone with him into the trees,

She should have seen what was coming in the dark amidst the branches, should have expected the scratches, clearly she wanted what was coming, just look at what she was wearing! …Not even leaves hid her blushing, , (BUILD**) that slut.

That slut—and so revolutionary is chipped off her tombstone before she’s even had time be buried

And the blueprint for her daughters becomes something much different, as our history is steeped in a heritage of sinner and slut, sinner and slut, sinner and slut and our names are soaked in her fabricated legacy, and our bodies become carved with the scars of our ancestor’s heresies,

Today. (pause) blood stained stilettos line streets no longer safe and politicians keep trying to redefine rape and one in four women will be sexually assaulted while in college.

So its about time someoneacknowledges that

This- is an epidemic.

Just lookfor the symptoms, they are not that hard to find. How many catcalls will bruise her breasts today? How many will become implanted in her spine, cause the fibers of her sense of self to decay, how many times

Can you call a woman a slut-

Before the word climbs up the walls of her larynxlike some bloodied bougainvillea that seals it shut ?

With its sludge- Until she has nothing left to say for herself

Until we have nothing left to say for ourselves
No words left to speak but the one being forced down our throats

So we try to reclaim that one,

So we march to reclaim that one,

Thousands and millions strong

Trying to take it back, trying to take something back

Maybe- if we took over enough sunshine filled sidewalks it would stop lurking in alleyways drenching the night sickly with its twisted melodies

Maybe- if we splashed it over our bodies with enough brightly colored pigments we could cover up the black and blue craters that too long have stained cheekbones

Maybe- if we shouted it up to the heavens loudly enough Eve would hear us. and realize she had nothing to be sorry for

She had nothing to apologize for

It was NOT her faultWhen girls are hungry for knowledge,

We should feed them

When they go hunting through forests and climbing up trees, sniffing for the tendrils of the pomegranate breeze,WE

Should breathe support into their lungs and tell them

NOT to worry,

That the STARS would be HONORED to guide them through the darkness because if Your Quest is for progress YOU, -will NEVER go hungry