a rainbow phoenix
 
the defiance
became a blooming flower when
i was a teenager,
didn't like the idea of submitting
to anyone nor my worth being
placed in wifedom and motherhood;

i knew i had worth in my bones
as i was—

took me a while to reckon with 
everything and reconnect with my magic,
but in the end i found who i truly 
was buried under all the fear and judgment
of the person i was in the past;

and i found a rainbow phoenix
whose wings always rose after every chaos willing
us to see the beauty of another day.

Linda M. Crate (she/her) is a Pennsylvanian writer whose works have been published widely both online and in print. She has twelve published poetry chapbooks, the latest being: Searching Stained Glass Windows For An Answer (Alien Buddha Press, December 2022).