With the help of poetry, it isn't hard to send your message to the world. It can be pretty difficult to get that message across well, however, and change the lives of readers.
   Tori Sargent not only overcomes this obstacle; she exceeds it. Her confident, motivational voice and passion ignite a spark in readers' minds. That spark then evolves into blazing flames of thought, inspiration, and empowering respect for the author and her words. Tori's heartbreaking, yet heart-strengthening poem, "when he tells you he'd like you better with longer hair", metaphorically represents feminism and the injustice of men's opinions of the roles of women. All of this ––– the deep and personal message, the gift of confidence from writer to reader, the powerfully voiced complaint to our society ––– is brilliantly disguised in a poem that, if analyzed literally, is about hair.
"when the boy you love tells you he'd like you better with longer hair/do not apologize to him". This line alone, as simple as it sounds, holds a meaning infinity miles deep. This line ––– just this one line ––– is a secret code that holds a message important to the entire world. Deciphered, it says this: "When a boy demeans you, belittles you in any way, because you are a female and he is a male, do not let him retain that power. He does not have a right to say that, and neither does any other guy in the world." The poem goes on to say, "do not cry/do not do anything except leave", exposing the emotional turmoil a girl could go through over her appearance after the arrogant boy she "loves" abuses his privileges in their relationship and tries to force her to change for him because, as the author is fighting against, he feels he has a right to say it as he is a worthy man, and she is merely a woman.
   The fact that this poem is so gut-wrenchingly beautiful and magnificently written is just one of the many reasons I am in love with it. The fact that it indirectly addresses women and holds such a strong message is another. I cannot express in words my respect for Tori. She sets up her poem as if she is speaking to a girl whose boyfriend tells her he would like her better with longer hair. The narrator of the poem instructs this girl to, instead of agreeing and listening to her boyfriend, chop off her locks in defiance. Although she is telling the girl to do it in defiance of the boyfriend, she is also telling her to do it in defiance of the stereotypical level so many guys view women at: below them. "when he tells you he'd like you better with longer hair" subtly but strictly rebels against this way of thinking, and Tori's voice throughout in every line of the poem is glutted with might for women to rebel with her.
   Overall, this piece is astonishing. It is breathtakingly well-written, conveys an intense message, absorbs readers with its rich and raw emotion, and adds to its complexity and passion with a strong voice. I have no choice but to worship this poem; it is absolutely incredible.