Silent Warriors

Too young I was

when I read about them.

Cinderella, Snow White, and Belle.

Eyes glimmered, hope shimmered.

Young as I was,

So even I wanted to be like them.

Like Jasmine, who declared she was not a prize to be won.

Like Belle, who hated the misogyny that encircled her.

Like Merida, who challenged gender norms.

Like Tiana, who followed her passion.

So even I wanted to be like them.

Because they were the ones, what I wanted to be.

But then I grew up,

I guess I grew up too much.

I heard questions and false accusations,

I saw them point fingers.

Fingers at my ‘idols’.

They said,

'Princesses do not exist,

And even if they do, they're too perfect, too fake.

Too unqualified to be real because they do not make any mistakes.

They laugh at the way Aurora let a stranger kiss her.

The mock the way poor, Cinderella became a Queen.

They say they are weak.

Because they do not fight for themselves.

But the Disney Princesses I've known,

do not need armor, wands, and guns.

My princesses, of all races and colors,           

do not need shields and magic and ammunition.

They might be just imagination and nothing real.

But somewhere deep inside our hearts, they've given us hope made us all warriors.

So the Disney Princesses I’ve known are the real warriors.

They are,

the silent warriors.