Dear Artemisia,

When you were a teenager,

You were raped by your tutor,

A friend of your fathers.

When you were a young adult,

Your father sued your rapist,

For destruction of property,

You were the Property.

When you were slightly older,

They put screws in your thumbs,

To prove you were lying

You were an artist then too.

When you were a true adult,

You married and had children,

Painting strong women became your job,

And you became the female face of the Renaissance.

When you were an artist,

Every death you painted of man,

Had his face as inspiration,

Every woman with the sword was you.

When you were dead,

Females from eras long after yours,

Came to see how a woman paints resistance.

From Tessa, A Resistance Leader.