- A cento based on lines from Libertie, by Kaitlyn Greenidge
I hope that I have made you brave,
you in the world, responding to me,
the song I made.
A daughter is a poem.
You in the world, responding to me —
a daughter is a psalm,
kind but not too kind.
The song I made.
A daughter is a psalm.
What freeborn thing
can bear to be loved as much as that?
Write something for me.
What freeborn thing
you in the world —
A daughter is a poem.
There is bravery in being a mother.
You in the world, responding to me.
Being a mother means being someone’s god, if only briefly.
Kind, but not too kind.
A daughter is a poem.
Being a mother means being someone’s god, if only briefly.
And you cannot understand what I have given you,
all I have given you
to prepare you to fight.
And you cannot understand what I gave you.
You in the world, responding to me,
I hope that I have made you brave.
A daughter is a poem.