#WeAreLife
Lock her up, they chant repeatedly, incessantly, at every single rally. Continuously, lock her up…lock her up….lock her up…lock her up! Their sick, ugly, vile mantra.
But they aren’t just talking about Hillary anymore – -they are talking about us, women.
Lock us up.
Because, well, the audacity of women.
The courage of women.
The power of women.
The beauty and bravery of women.
The absolute fierceness of women.
The awakening of women.
We have awakened, we are indeed woke.
Lock her up.
Lock us up.
Keep her quiet.
Keep us quiet.
Shut her down.
Shut us down.
Oh, I think not.
She decided that her life was more valuable then the jewelry she was given to keep quiet.
She realized that the guilt and the shame and the fear she carried was not her own.
She decided that the secrets she tossed in the back of her drawer needed some airing out.
She would no longer blend into the background, or disappear into the night, or crawl into a corner, or fade away.
She would no longer keep herself small, invisible.
She would no longer stay silent.
She would no longer wilt or wither.
She would no longer take the blame for the things she did not do.
She would no longer bear sole responsibility for words spewed that shred her confidence.
She would no longer allow others to trample on her.
She would no longer allow anyone to stomp on her dreams.
She would no longer keep herself tidy.
She would no longer allow others to dirty her, sully her, dismiss and discard her.
She would no longer defend or stand by those who stood by knowing and kept quiet.
She would no longer apologize for making others feel uncomfortable and uneasy.
She would no longer wear flats so others could feel tall.
She would no longer cover her mouth while speaking her truth.
She would no longer pay full price for not being paid attention.
She would no longer hide her scars because they were in fact battles waged and battles won.
She would no longer cover up her flaws and her foibles because they were in fact her beauty marks.
She would no longer make excuses for the bad behavior of others.
She would no longer hide or cower.
She decided that her life was worth saving, and that she would save it, she alone, and she would help other women save theirs because no one, not one single human, gets to tell any woman what she can do or can’t do with her heart and her body — her soul and her words, no one – -not one single human — gets to tell any woman who to love, how to love, when to love, and where to love.
No, no, no.
You will never lock her/us up.
We are here to stay.
We are Mother Earth & Mother’s milk, and we are life.
We are life.
amy ferris
author. writer. girl.
Women’s eNews Columnist Amy Ferris is a highly accomplished author, screenwriter, television writer and editor. Every Friday, you will be invited into her world, where she will champion, encourage and inspire women to awaken to their greatness, as only she can, through passion, truth, hope, and humor — along with a heaping side of activism:
