Songbird: To My Daughter by Angela Cheveau

My girl, sing me a song about the shape of light spread your wings wide and soar up into flight when you were a child, you sang like a bird as the sun sank into gold, your voice could be heard soaring these rooftops, drifting through streets your tiny voice singing made my whole life complete. Daughter you were born with a God given voice to sing of our stories, show we weren’t given a choice so let your song carry high, over this city don’t let them tell you have to be pretty be proud and stand tall, always carry yourself with grace oh, daughter of mine, you are the strength of this place in public, you must simper, must nod, do as you are bidden but always remember that your power lies hidden folded up tight inside the hem of your dress keep these words of mine close and never confess words are your power so never ever forget to keep singing your songs, face down every threat in this life there are men who will want you brought down but my girl, keep on going and never break down descended from women with spines forged from steel who refused to bow low, to fold up, or to kneel in secret by lamplight, ‘neath the flicker of candles we gossiped and whispered like ruffians and vandals in secret we cussed, we fought and we swore we drank gin and read tea leaves whilst scrubbing the floor in secret we flourished, we knew all the tricks we discussed world affairs, even politics a secret society with our heads always bowed in public we knew not to ever be loud we passed through our lives softly like ghosts just series of notches on the master’s bedposts our bodies not ours, the landowner’s men our only sword in this life, the might of our pen they can take your body girl, but never your mind

there is no man alive by which you are defined and if there is one thing I’ll tell you, that I need you to know its that you’re here on this earth, to learn and to grow you are not here to gild yourself, to pose and to preen you are here to speak out, to be heard, to be seen but the world will try to deny you, to make you feel small to make you believe you have no worth at all so, listen to me now, my tiny songbird your songs are important, deserve to be heard I want to guide you, and show you, as mother showed me to point out the pathway to one day be free our magic is passed down in the words that we speak in us telling our daughters to never ever be meek in school you must seem quiet, seem gentle, seem mild but inside your heart you will always be wild you are not some, doxy, some hoyden, some plaything no, you have the heart, the soul, and the stomach of a king let tyrants fear you, be bold, brave, be seen know that inside you, breathes a goddess, a queen rise up from the ashes of your poor broken childhood like the phoenix you are, do all the things that I never could keep singing my daughter and transcend your birthplace and when life tries to break you, look it right in the face because you are a woman, you have magic in your bones you are descended from witches, from healers, from crones you are the granddaughter of those that they failed to burn you are descended from brambles, bracken and fern the strength of the oak tree flows deep in your veins so don’t let this life wrap you in chains deep down in your heart you know the magic’s still there you are born of sea-spangled sunlight, of water, of air, at school keep your head down and do as you are told but inside keep your fierce close, be fearless, be bold one day we will all rise again, be who we were always meant to be a lineage of sisters who can finally fly free.