Things We Forget

I’d choose Grace Lee Boggs to ask how activism evolves across a lifetime.

I’d meet Ching Shih, the pirate queen, to ask how she commanded fear and loyalty.

I’d meet Henry David Thoreau, the author, to ask what solitude taught him that society never could.

I’d meet Pharoh Hatshepsut to understand how she found the confidence to rule in a world that hated women so fiercely. She redefined power.

I’d choose Susan B. Anthony to ask what it feels like to fight for rights you may not live to see.

I’d sit with Samuel Morse to learn how it feels to shrink communication into dots and dashes that changed history.

I’d meet Nikolaus Copernicus to ask how he felt trying to reveal the truth of the universe to a world that believed it was at the center.

I’d sit with Anaïs Nin to ask how she wrote desire with such honesty.

I’d talk to Seneca about finding calm in chaos.

I’d talk to Wu Zetian to understand how a woman survives ruling an empire built by men.