The True Jo March

I am the true Jo March.
So many fakes have come
and gone, married to a man
they swore did not exist.

They would not marry.
They would dedicate
themselves to writing,
to swordplay, to theater.

Yet each were lured,
each heavy fish on fine
strings of gold or compliments
or promises.

Writing, swordplay, theater,
even, cannot provide
these things. These girls knew
this before these trifles swung before their eyes.

Jo March was not the true Jo March.
I am. She said, “I do,”
and I say,
“I won’t.”