Let it go

Forgive

Be kind

Turn the cheek

Be the change

It’s just men being men

It’s just locker room talk

Don’t overreact

Don’t make something out of nothing

Don’t pick sides

Be the change

A girl said he fondled her

“but that’s all they have so far”

I guess it’s not that bad

Let it go

Vibe higher

Do the work

Be the change

Fifty three women

A dozen teenagers

A couple of kids “so far”

But they were all lying

Let it go

Focus on love

Be the good you want to see

Be the change

“Grab ‘em by the pussy”

Grope them in the elevator

Mock their bodies

their voices

their rights

their rage

Breathe

Be calm

Find your center

Be the change

Steal their paths to success

Rape the land

Tear apart families

Defile their sacred spaces

Destroy their art

Take a deep breath

Remember to love

Look for the beauty

Be the change

Lie

And lie again

Bolder

Bolder still

Recruit more defilers

Join the ranks

You can be holy too

Just put on a uniform

And a mask

And if they dare to push back

Knock them down

Spray this chemical

Carry this gun

Because they are not holy like you

Control your mind

Quiet your pride

Smile at a stranger

Give to charity

Be the change

For generations we’ve carried the burdens

Emotional

Mental

Spiritual

We’ve carried the water

And the babies

And the laundry

While carrying their loads

and their wounds

and their damage

and their scripts as well

It’s not us versus them

It’s all an illusion

It’s all connected

It’s all in the plan

Find your center

Find the healing

Be the fucking change

For every unwanted advance

every micro aggression

every blatant insult

Belittlement

Dismissal

For every reporter silenced

For every man abducted

For his family abandoned

For every glimmer of fear or anger behind brown eyes

For the forced religions

and sex

and pregnancies

and labor

For the wars

and the genocides

and the hunger

For the destroyed art

and peoples’ house

and gardens

and parks

and water

and air

and food

There is no “them”

The system is rigged

Remember the truth

Don’t play the game

It’s not their responsibility

It’s not their mess

It’s YOUR job

to let it go

Vibe higher

Do the work

Be the fucking change

Carry it all

While we defile you

And then carry the pieces of us

We lost in doing so

That’s what women do

They are healers

They are gentle

They nurture

They belong in the home

Do what you do best

Be the change.

Maybe someday we’ll listen

And fucking change

Into something a little more comfortable

Like defiance

And flames

And rage.

~ Cristen Writes