Getting Ready

I tell the girls to wake up, I tell them to pick up

their clothes, I say make your bed, brush your hair;

I tell them to tuck in their entitlement and pull up

their despair – there's no time to waste. I tell them

be prepared. I say wash your face. I tell them there's

no such word as cannot. I say keep part of you soft, but

push up your sleeves and tie your skirts in a knot. I say be

ferocious, I say but firstly, be kind; I tell them that each day

is righteous and that they are Divine.