I pledge allegiance to the women

whose mouths never stopped moving,

even when their hearts have been weathered

weary by the lead that replaced their blood

somewhere along their journey,

who've walked a thousand miles

with weights tethered to their ankles,

who straighten their beaten backs

just enough to yell enough at those

that try to silence them.

I pledge allegiance to my mother,

who chokes on an accent every time

she tries to speak but does not denounce

the title of intelligence. And

I pledge allegiance to my sister,

who taught me never to accept a world

in which the word "feminist" carries stigma

while "rapist" runs free.

But I will not utter another word to a flag

that gave up on me centuries before I existed.