Those Scars and Fallen Stars

By Mishika Kapoor, 19, India

Those Scars

The scars prominent

Fevering the skin into dominance

The splashes still alive

Burning my heart from inside

Bruised face I hide behind the veil

Cause no one will stand for my pain

My eyes rain heavily

But emotions go silent

If I speak out people will talk

Such are the words I hear on loop

Will I hide all life

Covering my face can I survive

The revenge was baseless

Denial was my decision

But it wasn't respected,

I was abused, and lashes were painted on my face

A small ego destroyed my existence

For them it was a joke

But my whole life will rot

They are laughing while I cry in pain

I won’t sit behind bars

It wasn't even my fault

The guilt will cry

Many more like me will come out with pride

I will voice against the wrong

Acid attacks are not cool at all

The bruises burns the heart

Ripping the soul deeply apart

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Fallen Stars

Sitting under the open sky

Gazing, as the stars fly

In the embrace of winters

Feeling frozen even around cinders

I think about the world

And my mind all swirled

A muse with the stars

The future bars.

My fallen stars

Jingling at my door while playing guitar

For I never wanted the story to end

YOU were a blessing to me, Oh Friend!

A magical spell so pale

Just like the fairy-tale

Of Prince, Princess and the Magic Hat

People said, ‘life isn’t like that’.

‘There are no wonderlands, no magic’.

But still I had dreams, such dramatic

My magic spell got shattered and frozen

Leaving just a soul completely broken

Which was mine, such a plight

Was the world right………?

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Mishika Kapoor is a 19-year-old student studying Medicine who has had two volumes ov her poems published. “Being from India, I have seen women go through a lot since my childhood. Women choose to keep quiet due to societal pressure, and this is what I want to stand up for. I think women are no less than men, and men have no right to violate women or their rights.” Mishika wants to motivate women to speak out and change this patriarchal society. She has been writing since she was four, and her poems have been published in various national and international journals.

Unboxed

By SarahAnne Nigra, 21, She’s the First Youth Ambassador

You can try to take my freedom

My decisions

Strip me from my innocence

Destroy property that doesn’t belong to you

Wipe my dreams with your words

Remove my power

Leave me feeling helpless

Push the standards society has set for girls like me

Tie me down with restrictions

And critique my every move

But the most powerful thing I have is my voice and knowledge

It might get silenced from your ignorance

But you cannot take that

My mind and intelligence will never be yours to take

That will stay even when you try to put me in a box I will find my way out

Every obstacle I encounter I am freed from because I am in charge when it comes to

My education

My dreams

My goals

The knowledge I carry

I will be heard

You can try to take what’s not yours but my mind will always win.

This is a never ending battle

but the willpower I’ve gained from walking out of the impossible cannot ever be

broken

It will not be easy but it is my path

And my voice and decisions will not only be listened to but heard

An educated and respected woman I will always be even when the odds are not in my

favor.

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A girl with an education is unstoppable—but barriers like gender discrimination, poverty, and exploitation prevent many girls from reaching graduation. Our Youth Ambassadors created the Power of Poetry campaign to amplify girls' voices about this issue for Poetry Month and the the Global Action Week for Education.

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SarahAnne Nigra is a 21-year-old college student who is working toward becoming a psychologist. Outside of her schoolwork, she is a model who loves writing poetry, horseback riding, and volunteering at her local stable. She is also a Youth Ambasssador for She’s the First. “Girls’ rights to me means all girls should have a voice and it should be heard.”

If I Ever Have Children

Author: Adelia Khalid

If I ever have a daughter, 
I will teach her to be brave.
I will tell her to be wise.
I will teach her modesty but I will also teach her pride,
I will tell her that her worth is not defined by,
The size of her lips or her hips or her eyes,
But of the honesty of her heart and the intricacies of her mind, 
I will tell her to smile,
Because the world needs more smilers, 
I will tell her to work hard,
Because sometimes she will have to work twice as harder.
I will tell her that there will be people who think that she doesn't deserve the things that she's achieved,
I will tell her that there will be people who will never believe what she has to say, 
Never listen to her just because of who she is,
I will teach her that she is not just a supporting role in someone else's story.
I will tell her that she is more than just her body,
That she was not put on this earth with the sole purpose of satisfying someone else,
That she is not an accessory to a crime she didn't commit,
I will teach her to have empathy.
I will teach her that her existence is a resistance to those who disagree.

My daughter,
I will teach you to be kind, 
But if someone touches you, 
In a way you know they shouldn't,
I promise you,
I don't think they will make it home.

If I ever have a son, 
I will teach him to be strong, 
I will teach him to be gentle,
I will tell him that it is not a crime to feel,
That crying to human beings is just as important as watering is to a tree, 
I will tell him that his worth is not defined by.
Muscles and emotions you think you have to hide,
And there is nothing wrong with liking the colour pink,
And that you are not excused from kitchen duties and dirty dishes in the sink, 
I will tell him that people will expect too much of him,
And if it gets too much,
I will be there for him and tell him that he is more than enough for me.
There will be people who will tell you that you are inherently vicious,
When you and I know otherwise,
I will teach him that violence is never the answer,
I will remind him to protect his sister when
I won't be able to.
I will tell him that it is more than okay to say "I'm not okay" "I love you,"
I will teach you to be brave, 
To stand in the eyes of hate,
Shout to the ears of wrong-doers,
Listen and let their victims tell their story,
I will teach him that his existence is a resistance to those who disagree.

I will teach you to be kind, 
I will try to be kind,
But if you come home having touched someone's daughter,
In a way you know you shouldn't have,
Not even thinking if the same happened to me or your sister, 
Even when I've taught you to, 
I assure you,
You will no longer have a home to come back to.

If I ever have children, 
I will teach them to love,
Until the world starts to do the same,
In the meantime, my child, 
I will promise you,
I will love as furiously as I hope you do too,
So that when you get here,
You won't have to.

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A girl with an education is unstoppable—but barriers like gender discrimination, poverty, and exploitation prevent many girls from reaching graduation. Our Youth Ambassadors created the Power of Poetry campaign to amplify girls' voices about this issue for Poetry Month and the the Global Action Week for Education.

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Adelia Khalid, 21, is the #1 MPH [the Malaysian bookseller] bestselling author of All Minds Are Broken. Growing up in Malaysia, she would be seen with a book wherever she went. Her love for books and reading moved her to start writing her own stories. Eventually, she wrote her debut novel at 17. She is currently pursuing her Degree in English Literature at Universiti Malaya. She writes songs and poetry in her spare time.