GIRL, YOU WERE BORN WITH A FIRE INSIDE YOU, AND THIS WORLD IS

GIRL,
YOU WERE BORN WITH A FIRE INSIDE YOU,
AND THIS WORLD IS DETERMINED TO STAMP IT OUT.

YOU WILL SEE IT WHEN YOU STAND UP FOR YOURSELF
AND YOU ARE TOLD ‘IT ISN’T LADYLIKE TO RAISE YOUR VOICE.’

YOU WILL HEAR IT WHEN YOU WEAR SOMETHING THAT HUGS YOUR BODY
AND FEEL THE UNCOMFORTABLE SENSATION OF BEING STRIPPED NAKED
BY THE EYES OF MEN WHO CALL YOU NAMES YOU ARE STILL TOO YOUNG TO UNDERSTAND.

YOU WILL KNOW IT WHEN A MAN TRIES TO USE HIS STRENGTH
TO HAVE HIS WAY WITH YOU THE FIRST TIME,
AND YOU NEED TO USE YOUR FISTS/TEETH/LEGS TO GET HIM OFF.

YOU WILL UNDERSTAND IT WHEN YOU SEE
YOUR MOTHER’S EYES FILLED WITH TERROR
BECAUSE YOU ARE AN HOUR LATER THAN YOU SAID YOU WILL BE HOME.

BUT YOU MUST NEVER EVER LET THEM TAKE
THOSE FLAMES FROM WITHIN YOUR SOUL,
INSTEAD, YOU MUST BURN BRIGHTER THAN EVER
BECAUSE YOU ARE A DAUGHTER OF THE SUN,
AND YOU BELONG ONLY TO YOURSELF, NOT TO THIS WORLD.

—Nikita Gill, For Girls Filled with Fire