What Do They Say When They See Us?

We’re the faces behind the fathers behind bars, absent or dead.
We’re the girls that’s going to break the cycle no matter what statistics say.
We’re the bread winners in our home because the only communication with our dads is through the phone.
We’re the girls that didn’t touch the system and the same girls who are not often considered.
But instead we have to shut up and listen?
No, we are the girls that are being taught to use our voice
Because if we listen to them we will only have one choice.
One choice that will either push us to the streets or to the prison just to validate the false statistics?
We’re the same children that sometimes don’t get treated like little girls.
We’re the same girls that are not privileged to travel the world.
We’re the same girls that watch our single moms struggle.
We’re the same girls that are changing laws so our fathers don’t return to society and only have the option to hustle.
We’re the same faces that have to see our fathers on Sundays behind a glass.
We’re the same faces that go to school the next day and fight in class.
We’re the same girls that teachers give up on instead of identifying the problem and simply asking “What’s wrong?”
We are the faces behind the girls that are growing up fatherless.
We are Daughters Beyond Incarceration.