The Valkyrie

This piece was originally written and performed at the Burnal Equinox at Burn2 in Secondlife. It was something that I became inspired to write as I studied about my ancestry and where I came from.  I have Scandinavian ancestors on both sides of my family.

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The Valkyrie

By Aubrey Lyn Jeppson

My grandmothers were Shield Maidens, Pioneers, and Suffragettes.

 

They were strong.

They were warriors.

 

But now, I am told the war is over.

The battle is won.

I am equal.  Women are equal…to men.  Girls equal to boys.

 

We have found our balance…But…

 

But I scream….

Like a girl.

But I throw…

Like a girl.

But I run…

Like a girl.

But I do battle…

Like a girl.

 

If I am equal, if my daughters will be equal, then why are they told that they are the lesser?

Why are girls synonymous with frail, feeble, fragile?

 

How can I be strong when I am born to be weak?

 

Strenght is not just swinging a sword.

 

Strength is endurance.  Strength is enduring…

“You’d be so much prettier if you smiled.”

“No, honey, let me explain this to you.”

“You’re pretty good at games, for a girl.”

“You’re getting angry, are you on your period?”

“Why do you serve your cousins some pie?  Or help out in the kitchen?”

 

So I endure…And I fight.

My hands are strong, but so is my mind

and I find my balance on the sharp edge of my grandmother’s sword.

 

And I will do as my grandmothers did.  As my mother did.

 

I will become the Valkyrie my ancestors believed in.

 

A beautiful, strong and wise maiden.

 

I will scream battle cries like a girl.

I will throw my spear like a girl.

I will run and face injustice like a girl.

I will do battle like a girl.

 

I will use my strength to guide the souls of the weary and wounded in this life,

to lift the spirits of those that stumble and become fallen.

 

The will not break me because I am strong, brave and courageous…

Like a girl.