No Time for Nonsense

She came ashore

from the wild ocean

glistening with sea salt

"She looks so pretty,"

they all said

"her outfit is just so cute!"

And they missed the point entirely

Cute? Pretty?

She is an ocean warrior

a fierce guardian of life and the briny deep

she is half-wild and fearless

determined

bad-ass

bruised-knuckled

scarred and indomitable

she has written books in blood

and taught classes in caves

she has mentored students

and saved lives

she has plunged her feet

thigh deep into muck and mire

and dug into the bottom of the ocean

with a shovel and her bare hands

She is a sweat-stained stone bearer 

and a work-hardened master of her own destiny

she has wrestled with tentacles and grabbers

and not all of them in the wildern waters

She is strong and storied

undaunted and shark-dangerous

bold

wise

savage

strange

barbaric

heavy with rage and rebellion

and dangerous as a rip tide

and so

when she swims to shore

from months of world-changing work

don't you dare 

don't you DARE

lead with

"she looks pretty"

and

"what a cute outfit"

She is a spear bearer 

with no time for nonsense