one day i'll give birth to a baby girl
and when she is born, she will scream
and i'll make sure she never stops
i'll kiss her before i lay her down
and i'll tell her a story so she knows how it is
and how it must be for her to survive
i'll tell her about the power of water
the seduction of paper
the promise of gasoline
and the hope of blood
i'll teach her to shave her eyebrows and mark her skin
i'll teach her that her body is her greatest work of art
i'll tell her to light things on fire and keep them burning
i'll teach ehr that the fire will not consumer her, that she must take it and use it
i'll teach her to be trisexual, to try anything
to sleep with, fight with, and pray with anyone as long as she feels something
i'll help her to do her best when it rains
and re-invent herself every twenty-eight days
i'll teach her to develop all of herself
the courageous ones, the smart ones, the dreaming ones, the fast ones
i'll teach her she has an army inside her that can save her life
i'll tell her to say "fuck" like others say "the" and when people are shocked
to ask them why they fear a small quartet of letters
i'll make sure she always carries a pen
so she can take down the evidence
and if she has no paper
i'll teach her to write it on her tounge, to write it on her thighs
i'll help her to see that she will not find god or salvation in a dark brick building built by dead men
i'll explain to her that it is better to regret the things she has done than the things she hasn't
i'll teach her to write her manifestos on cocktail napkins
i'll teach her to tell men to lick her enterprise
i'll teach her to talk hard
i'll tell her that her skin is the most beautiful dress she'll ever wear
i'll tell her that people most earn the right touse her nick name
that forced intimacy is an ugly thing
i'll make her understand that she is worth more with her clothes on
i'll tell her that when the words finally flow to fast and she has no use for a pen
that she must quit her job, run out of her house in her bathrobe and leave the door open
i'll teach her to follow the words
i'll teach her to stand up and head for the door after she makes love
and when he asks her to stay, to tell him she's got to go
i'll tell her when she first bleeds when she is a woman
to go to the roof at midnight, raise her hands to the sky and scream
i'll teach her to be whole, to be holy, to be so much that she doesn't need me anymore
i'll teach her to go quickly and never come back.
i will make her stronger than me
i'll say to her
never forget what they did to you and never let them know you remember
never forget what they did to you and never let them know you remember
never forget what they did to you and never let them know you remember