do not let anyone
convince you a Witch

is something to fear. she is a female

with power, the healer, the magician
persecuted for being both woman

and extraordinary.

the men panic for their seat in the
castle. they do not know how to share

a throne. when you cast a spell,
they laugh, but make no mistake:

predators will cut off your hands
if you prove them to be useful.

they will cut off your hands
if they decide you are capable

of starting a war.

but you are all bite, claws, steel, filed teeth
and jaws, scratch, buckle, sparkling fists.
there is a fire. let them cower. howl louder.

see the wonder-girl who can swallow lit
matches, who manages to survive in spite

of the fifteenth street-side threat this week.
boy at a party jokes that women

are an endangered species. once,
I met a ten-year-old who had to cover

his little brothers eyes while watching their father
beat their mom to death. sometimes, I am all too

aware of the obstacle course getting home safe
at night is like. I have a weapon in my purse

that looks like a friendly kitten keychain.
I have heard the stories of brave women

made into headlines made into such-a-
shame’s. I can’t say I haven’t been warned.

tonight, you are angry and
outside, it is storming.
use your voice like a flamethrower,
a siren. they are afraid of whatever

this heat is coming from
and who she came here for.

who do you know named extinct?