persist

When you meet resistance

for who you are,

for how you look,

for what others assume you should give away,

When you meet resistance,

become the Resistance.

Persist in being a mighty citizen of the world.

Persist in doing good.

Insist upon your equal rank in the fight

for goodness, truth, and beauty.

Desist in carrying shackles

intended to keep you in your place,

designed to impress upon you

that you are less than.

Resist those instances

in which it’s hinted

that you should be pitted against

your own kind.

Persist in love.

Pursue empathy.

We can all walk in one another’s shoes,

they are unisex.

We are all humankind.

There is no “them,”

Only “we”

as we continue to be

the Resistance.

 

Happy International Women’s Day, with thanks and love to those who have made this world a better place.