A Good Little Girls Zine

Pictures of us strung together,
on popcorn garlands coast through the day.
“Smile with your teeth;
stand here;
put your arm around her;
stand like a man;
sit like a girl”
Their words—
the ones we banded together to rebel against,
as an unified army of two.
Battles upon battles we fought;
you covering the front, me the back.

Now, our golden swords hang in my living room—
a reminder that it was real.
And I sit in front of them—
the garland of pictures,
the blood stained swords tightly strung together.

I sit and sit;
decades later–
Tired.

Still, hopeful—
not for what we had
not to be bound so tightly to you,
but for what’s next,
the next page for us.

Picture of Sonia Chintha

Sonia Chintha

Sonia Chintha is an Indian American writer who lives in the Washington DC area. She blogs, writes poetry, and fiction. She is also an English teacher who believes that our experiences teach us more than any test. She is the founder and co-editor of Good Little Girls.

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