Tame by Sarah Howe (grades 7-9)

TW: descriptions of parental neglect and intimate partner abuse

Originally published in her anthology “Loop of Jade” Sarah Howe’s poem Tame describes the intergenerational trauma caused by misogynistic family dynamics– a pattern that has historically affected Chinese families to a disproportionate degree. With a PHD in Renaissance Literature from Christ’s College Cambridge, Howe seamlessly blends her Western and Eastern cultural influences by framing her understanding of misogyny (as influenced by her life in London, UK) through the narrative of a popular Chinese folktale. A visceral, yet whimsical tale of the “unwanted daughter”, Howe’s poem is an ode to all the unnamed, unloved girls whose wings were clipped before they even realised they could fly.