In Her heydays
When power she could sway
She said “Boys will be boys”
When her son looked up the skirt.
When he stabbed the family cat.
When he slapped his sister for disobeying him.
In Her heydays
When power she could sway
She said “Girls ought to be like Girls”
Encouraging her daughter to act coy
Never to oppose the authority of the Male
Never to speak her mind, leave alone act on it.
In Her heydays
She let the son explore freedom with Freedom
She arrested her daughter with Honor
Son, the Heir, here to stay;
Daughter, the Honor, to give away.
In the Now.
She watches her life’s work unravel
As the Heir imprisons Honor,
In the name of freedom
She inherits the prison and loses Her honor.
8 comments:
hmmm this poem gives me an uneasy feeling
excellent writing
This seems so true. Expressed so well and this piece is fantastic.
She let the son explore freedom with Freedom
She arrested her daughter with Honor
Very real, moving, in a world where women too often betray their own kind and perpetuate the inequalities, rather than standing up and saying No More
it is true.
You pick the feeling well Danette. I have been reading very disturbing news from India and this was a result of the reading.
Thank you Nikhil. :). Did you read the opinions of people in places of power, in India, about the recent spate of rape and voilence against women? It left a very bitter aftertaste with me.
Its sad and scary to watch it happen. Somehow it never occurs to a woman to say NO!
:). You've been reading too.
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