“My Fighting Words,” by Kylie Kelso, Mt. Washington, KY, is an inspirational poem about discovering your courage and finding your voice. The narrator describes their experience of bringing about their hidden power through similes and metaphors. The speaker’s voice is hidden, until it is given the chance to expose itself and stand strong, when the narrator doesn’t feel as if they have the courage to do what they want. Inside of their body, a storm is brewing, and an argument between a side that wants the voice to speak up, and the side that wants to keep it inside, is in full force. The piece demonstrates a shy personality, finding its way to free their buried voice, which is what makes this poem so motivational and empowering.
         I find this piece truly beautiful, with expressive and intelligent comparisons. For example, the author compared the two debating voices inside of the narrator’s head to, “two fighting sides in my spirit: the one that yearns to give up and the one that refuses.” The language of the comparisons used keeps the reader engaged in the narrator’s story, yearning to find out more. Also, the poet includes a very empowering ending that stays with the reader even after they have finished reading the poem. The author ends with the lines, “As if the courage of the thunder can echo from the sky to my soul, to become my fighting words when I don’t have any.” The heaviness of these lines, especially after reading the poem in its entirety sits with the reader, as it did with me. I understood the narrator’s idea that they are trying to express, and it became clear to me what the speaker wants to convey. The thoughtfulness and engaging quality of the poem, is what really makes it a great piece that will stick with you, and make you think about the courage inside of yourself.