Poets for a Cause: Raquel Franco and Female Empowerment
It is my pleasure to bring you poet spotlights every month from writers who are passionate about shedding light on important topics such as mental health awareness, chronic illness, trauma, domestic violence, widowhood, childhood cancer, and self-love. Today, I got to chat with poet, Raquel Franco, about a subject that is very important to her in her writing: female empowerment.
Raquel Franco: “My main goal is to inspire women to feel empowered in who they are and their self-worth. Women need to know they are worthy no matter what stage of life they are in. It’s ok to not be ok and it’s more than ok to not be like everyone else.”
I love how Franco encourages every woman to be herself and to nurture the individual gifts that she has to offer the world. She empowers women through her words to remember that they are loved and capable, no matter what circumstances they find themselves in. In a world that thrives on competition, I love Franco’s message for women: that we can lift one another up and cheer for each other along the way. Her work encourages women to be on this journey together, helping each other through hardships and honestly sharing their stories with one another. It doesn’t have to be woman against woman. We are truly stronger together and our strengths can complement one another’s. Our support of one another can help us work through our weaknesses. The result is a community of women growing and healing together.
“No one can enslave me
but me.
I have to be the breaker
of my own chains,
pull freedom out
of my throat,
let it grow wings
and dragon’s teeth.
Learn how my own breath
can start fires.”
Her words remind us that we often stand in our own way, enslaved to toxic thoughts and doubts. But, what you do matters, and you can create wildfires of change with your actions if you stop letting your fears keep you frozen in one place.
“I’m done letting them
paint my world
sour clouds and fragile rain.
I’m done being sad girl,
their Mona Lisa smile.”
Deciding to step into who you are is a hugely brave choice, and I love that Franco is so passionate about women finding their individual voices. Not only does she support our individual empowerment, but also our empowerment as a whole. We need to constantly show up for one another and build each other up. Success doesn’t have to be a scarce resource that we trample over each other to achieve. We can and should be learning from one another and doing life alongside each other. That’s the ultimate empowerment for ourselves and the other women we are surrounded by each and every day. For more from Raquel Franco, be sure to follow her over on her Instagram page. If you know someone who does a great job spotlighting important topics with their poetry, be sure to let me know for future features. It is a joy to introduce the community to passionate poets with powerful messages for their readers.
