by Jaspreet Sangha

You warned your daughter
about the missing girls
on the news
and how dark it gets.
But you told your sons to go out and play.
You told her
not to speak too loud, too brash.
Seen but not heard is the way.

No.
Roar sister, roar.

Don’t let your laugh
be a small sound.
Let it break open
the mountains and shake
the very ground you were
told not to stand on.
You keep spilling
fire from your throat,
earning what’s yours.
Filling up the spaces
you were once banned from.
Roar sister, roar.

Don’t let your voice
simply stir a whisper
in the wind.
Let it leap from your lips
and make everyone halt
and hear you.
This isn’t about
making people fear you,
this is simply about
coming out of the shadows
you had to settle for.
Roar sister, roar.

Don’t shrink yourself
to make your body smaller.
Stand taller.
Your presence should
be recognised,
visible and heard.

They’ll know when
you’ve arrived
through the door.
Roar sister, roar.


Jaspreet Sangha | @behindthenetra

Jaspreet is a female spoken word artist from East London focused on sharing her thoughts on gender issues, historical topics and taboo subjects both in the Asian community and wider society. By day she’s a History teacher at a secondary school in central London, with an academic background in both History and Gender Studies.

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