I’m not raising my daughter

 I’m not raising my daughter

to be easy to handle

i’m raising her
to know when something feels off
and trust herself enough to listen

to not smile just to keep the peace
to not say yes when she means no

to understand
she doesn’t owe anyone comfort
at the cost of her own

i’m raising her
to take up space
to be loud when she needs to be
to walk away when something isn’t right

because one day
people will try to tell her
she’s too much

too emotional
too strong
too opinionated

and i need her to know

she was never too much
they just weren’t enough to hold her

so no
i’m not raising her to be easy

i’m raising her
to be unapologetically herself