Because You’re A Girl | Stephen Byrne

you will bring life
into this world,
only to lose yours.
Because you’re a girl
you will suffer mutilation
to bleed and scream for a month.
Because you’re a girl
you will be brought to a river
              to drown
since you weren’t born a boy.
Because you’re a girl
who loves the smell of books
you will be found hanging
              from a tree
or buried beneath a pile of stones.
Because you’re a girl
you will sell your virginity at eleven
              so food
can be put on the table for boys
and you will never hear
the giggles at school, yet
you will be taught
the meaning of HIV.
Because you’re a girl
dancing will avoid
the ends of your feet
and you will never
unearth the poetry of
                          flowers.
You exist only to be sold
like new clothes
at a market and your young body
to be branded property
all because
you are a daughter, sister, mother,
                          child,
you are her -
your brokenness and shame written
into rules and laws
because you’re a girl 

Stephen Byrne is a chef, poet and editor living in the west of Ireland. He has been published worldwide and in places such as Rats Arse Review, Spontaneity, Warscapes, RædLeafPoetry-India and The Original Van Gogh’s Ear Anthology. His work has also been translated into Russian for the Nasha Gazeta journal and newspaper, Dublin edition. He writes on his site http://therantingbeast.com/