Awake. And Rising.
●●●
An ode
To all the women
And girls
Experiencing
Great violence of war
In their lands
In their homes
At work
On the streets
And many a time
At play
Be rest assured
We feel your pain
Honour
Your resilience
Pray for
Your deliverance
And urge you to
Fight on
For together
We will
Survive it
Box this
Wanton vice
Into obscurity
Control the narrative
That threatens
To destroy us
From the inside out
Rewrite
That tale
And live
To testify...
●●●
●●
●
If offered
An ultimatum
Of knuckles
Or words,
Should choice
Depend on setting?
Perhaps
Bear the former
At home;
Take it firmly
On the chin;
Stand resolute
When pummelled;
Bounce back
From bouts
With belt straps;
Field slaps
And punches
Like a pro;
Knowing one
Would eventually
Wake up
Scarred
Yet capable
Of healing;
Free of
Abusive nouns
Imprinted on
An already jaded
Memory;
Tattooed
On the lobes
Of a traumatised brain;
PTSD On a
Never-ending
Loop
Flashing through
Nightmares
Filtered by
The 'normality'
Of everyday life;
Carelessly
Carefree thoughts
Overshadowing
Glimmers of
Trust
●
●
Better, maybe
To gratefully opt for
The chance of
Self-assurance
In a workplace
Replete with
‘Extended family’
Ready to artfully stifle
Any hint of “rebellion” -
The oppressor’s
Favoured dysphemism
For individualism.
In a society
So attuned to
Mindless convention,
Eager to mollify.
Expect nothing more
Than the constant urge to
Pacify-then-repress
From friend and foe alike
●
●
And yet
What price
One, or the other
This, or that?
Why give up
The ability
To jump clear
Over heaving gutters
Leap high
Above barriers
Erected to stall
Our faltering progress?
I'd rather forgo
Fists and fable
Live unafraid
And free
To be.
Just be.
●
●
New memo, then
To all of us
Still standing
Strong
Defiant in the
Face of knocks
Beating the odds
Whilst fearful
Of the future.
Our turn to throw
A much-needed
Lifeline
To those
Near drowning point.
That lady
Yet to surface;
The woman
In a private hell,
Where turmoil
Indescribable
Reigns unchecked.
Having survived
Our war
Time now to
Help someone else
Win their own
Hellish battles.
●
●
If anger
Be appropriate,
Let's rage against
The brutality of talk;
The danger inherent
In a comment;
The injurious effect
Of an opinion
In a digital world
Persistently
Tearing down
Self-confidence,
Defiling appearance,
Sublimating worth,
Exploiting
Our mothers, sisters,
Daughters and friends…
Let's not be
Mere bookends
Of the problem,
But put
Quite simply
The compassionate
And the kind.
👓
⠀⠀
#EndViolentDiscourse
#WomenStickingTogether
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📖 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. Psalms 3:3 NLT (YouVersion)
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