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Gender War

Ellie Cushing

She’s tired 

Her body is sore 

Her mind is in 

A gender war 

She feels so trapped 

She wants to transcend 

Is this the beginning?

Or the cold bitter end? 

Stop, breathe a little

Crack the code 

Solve the riddle 

What am I?

Who am I? 

Only time shall tell 

In this rabbit hole

She fell 

And now she seems

To be questioning 

Over and over 

Again and again 

She’s still tired 

Thinking feels 

Like a chore 

Her mind is still in

A gender war 

Though she doesn’t know 

What for 

But the girl you knew 

Walked out that door 

A boy came in

Onto the floor 

She was finally he 

He couldn’t want anything more 

Ellie Cushing is sixteen years old and attends Braden River High School. “Gender War” received an Honorable Mention in the Manatee Libraries and 805 Teen Poetry Contest.

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