I am a redhead, on the sixth turn of the globe you said

I set a curse upon the world, abolished paradise

One bite of wisdom shattered the rib from which I came

An apple was the perfect pick for my potion

You became my ruler that day

never again to trust a girl with a taste for knowledge

My name is Eve

 

I am a redhead, in 1324 you said

I choreographed a tragedy behind night’s dark curtains

I amplified the wailing wind, dimmed the lunar light

 My voice was drowned in your patriarchal game

forced to play my role in your biased script

You feared my flames, my scintillating sparks

so you lit your own

My name is Petronilla

 

I am a redhead, in 1692 you said

I chanted spells from my book of shadows

I couldn’t read – I was four years old

I was a girl who imagined cats and snakes

mixing medicines in my garden from thyme and sage

You tied a noose around my tiny neck

I joined the world’s grand funeral for thousands

 and you called us witches

My name is Dorothy

 

I am a redhead, in 2024 you said

the ginger joke you told was banter

 Witches have pointed hats and warty faces

 We should learn from the faults of the past

You wrote me a textbook about men versus men

Did you forget the litany of injustices against us?

Does it make you insecure?

A reminder of what men do to the different

 

My name is Faith

I am the voice of a million foremothers

You cannot burn us all