I am.
determined
creative
professional.
I don’t.
need a great name
even though I already have one.
I don’t.
need you to plan my life
or tell me what I should and shouldn’t do.
I am.
intelligent and capable.
—A masters degree
not in camp counseling
not in chaperoning
English teacher am I.
A strong oak
standing powerfully firm—alone
I don’t.
need you telling me
where to walk
how to be
who to be
I am
determined
creative
professional.
I am not you.
I am me.
Me.
ME.
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.
As a child, I rejoiced in making French braids and high buns out of its thick curls. I wrote my own stories within the impenetrable knots of marriage and motherhood, weaving through her silky strands that seemed to extend for miles. The comb that would agitate my own coiled hair would billow through hers, without the slightest effort.
Illustration by Deema Alawa Scream: Inhabit Truth Opens inside these four walls: white,
I wish I could let go of you You with your crushing sarcasm laughing at it all like it’s no big deal– to treat me