SISTERS QUORUM is pleased to announce its Young Writer Series, which will strive to empower Mormon youth (aged 13-18) by providing them space to express their ideas, concerns, and interests as each relates to gender issues associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The YW Series welcomes youth writers, regardless of gender, and, if publication is offered, will provide anonymity when requested. If you know young people interested in submitting their ideas, narratives, or short creative work (properly identified as such), please advise them of our YWS submission protocol.
We joyfully kick off the Young Writers Series with this powerful poem, written by a 16-year-old Mormon girl.
In Every Woman
History? HIS story, you say?
I clench my hands in response.
Do you know why it’s called history?
Because women are erased from the narrative.
If you were to read HER story it would sound a lot like this:
Her name is Hera, the Queen of the heavens,
Goddess of Women and Marriage.
Her name is Persephone, Queen of the Underworld,
Goddess of Spring and new life.
Her name is Lyssa, Goddess of Rage and Fury.
She lends her wrath to the abused.
Her name is Nike, Goddess of Victory;
She bestows her gifts upon those at the mercy of men.
Her name is Medusa, unwilling mother of Chrysaor and Pegasus.
Blessed with immense power, she is a symbol of protection.
Her name is Medea, Princess of Colchis,
Betrayed and abandoned by the men she loved and trusted.
Her name is Nemesis, Goddess of Revenge;
She offers her power to those who have been taken advantage of.
The Fates—Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos—weave and measure a mortal’s life,
Claiming destiny itself is female.
The old Goddesses impact our world.
I see it
In every woman and little girl,
In myself.
Rising like a Phoenix
From the ashes of our collective erasure,
We will make our fists and grab our pens
And we will write our stories.
~LG~
YOUNG WRITER BIO: LG is 16 and has an interest in mythology. She is an honors high school student that loves color guard, Pinterest, cooking, and hanging out with her friends.
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That is awesome! You know, until I read your poem, I’d never processed the fact that other religions name their female goddesses, but not Christianity. Thank you for that insight.
I especially like these lines:
“Her name is Lyssa, Goddess of Rage and Fury.
She lends her wrath to the abused.”
Women’s anger is smothered, and we get shamed for being angry, even when we have every right to be. I *love* the idea of a Goddess giving rage and fury to the abused like it’s a gift. It is a gift; victims who never get angry never protect themselves. Powerful.
I remember being assigned to write a poem in high school, and taking the line about the angels singing from “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” to expound on how the angels would have been men, and it’s always men’s voices we hear. That was the first time I articulated to myself that I was angry that women are so rarely heard.
There are more female voices now. I don’t know that we’ll ever catch up, but at least there are more.
Keep writing.
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