Women
Learn more about other poetry terms
i hold on to her word like it's a gospel.
she's taught me religion,
yet i feel like i forget my solid grasp on her teachings.
i yearn for her approval,
just as she had before me.
I’d rather not
Sitting with my teacup
I’ll let my hands burn
I’d rather not
Watching all the others live their lives
NOT GONNA LIE
IF I AM TOLD TO SUFFER SUCH PAIN
THROUGHOUT MY LIFE
I’D RATHER CHOOSE TO DIE
I wonder if you think of me
in the way I do of you.
Does your heart flutter,
or do you get butterflies?
Does your heart ache,
She is pleasing and delicate,
Attractive and entertaining.
Wind her up.
Listen as she sings
Her mundane, chilling tune.
And watch.
Watch as she does her little dance,
That stupid little dance.
It calls for silence
It calls for reverence
It calls for smiles
It calls for laughter
loud and louder
It calls for silence
It calls for reflection
It calls for hesitation
My answer is no
Woman, woman, oh sweet womanMy love, my crib, my tokenIn my daily diaryEvery day is your journeyYou are my soul, my pillarI cherish you everydayAnd I love you, my flower.
Tocaré todas las campanas
Para tu cumpleaños
Saldré de mis bolsillos
Bonitas joyas de las hermosas calas.
Women are conditioned to dress like prey. High heels, uncomfortable and impractical to wear, are designed subconsciously to imitate the hooves of grazing animals like deer. Women are to be like earth.
All of my heroes were housewives
Smoke a cigarette and pour me some wine
Pop me a pill and I'll start to unwind
The Wind Is
the wind is blue
the wind who cools
the wind shoves
the wind braids my hair
the wind tangles my hair
the wind blows my tears away
You are man
You tell me to clean
You tell me to cook
You tell me to put my hair up
Because it looks ugly
When it's down
You say "Watch your sister"
You make me clean
You make me cook
She... used to dance? of life, in reality, Unknown. in your own rhythm, in your rhythm, ignorant of everything. She...
He must be deaf,
The whole world must be deaf.
As my screams are muted,
Even I can’t hear them.
Should I just give up?
Let him use me then hide.
I dreamt I had a daughter.So pale and fragile she cameInto this world fighting.And with her tiny fist wrapped aroundMy pinkie finger,I could tell she would fight to stay in it.
Welcome to womenhood
doors are wide open for your opinion
but don't think we opened them
we are door stopped by people who have no right to be wedged into out society, but we don't matter
Fanm, fanm, o fanm rapadou
Boubout mwen, bèsom, kòmansmanm
Nan kaye jounalye mwen chak jou
Chak jou se pou ou, se jou pa ou
Mujer, mujer, oh dulce mujer
Mi amor, mi cuna, mi comienzo
En mi cuaderno diario
Cada día es tu día
Tú eres mi alma, mi pilar
Today I feel griefUnlike any otherMy country has fallen In hands of angry men My mother weeps For whom I do not yet know Perhaps for my brotherWho fought for change But couldn’t bring it
i saw a little leaf to whirling in the wind,didn't want to fall from the treebut the leaf keeps falling over,i prop it up, it falls again .At the end, the heartbroken leafleaves a tear when it falls
I Was Asked Today To Write A Poem...
About Todays’ Tech Age And The String of PROBLEMS That It Now SUSTAINS...
From Men To Women To Those... Teenaged...
A Piece of Wordplay Can BARELY EXPLAIN... !!!
All my life I’ve been around
Niggas who think they can take something
From me
My skin
Rips at the sight of them
Their teeth
You need to act more lady-like.
Your posture is bad,
sit up straight.
Cross your legs when you sit.
Never kiss a man on the first date,
To those who handed me the paintbrush
to craft a mind of my own
In a world that's rich in color,
To those who spoke up in the quietest room,
To those who heard me suffer in silence,
Woman: an adult female human being.
But what is my real definition?
A Mat? A Punching bag? A Nag?
No, No, No What is MY real definition
Creator, Savior.
Now It's Simply My Vibe... !!!
But Now I Believe That The Price Is TOO HIGH... !!!!
To Have That HOT Wife Whose Got Those FIRM THIGHS...
And Boobies SO FINE That They Actually BLIND... !!!!!
Boys will be boys, just as they say.
They’ll push, they’ll tease, they’ll laugh, they’ll play.
They’ll take a no for a yes, and unrightfully so,
school days!
school days!
learning for the boys
but the girls are just toys
pass them around
and then
just deny it
school days!
school days!
boys can come shirtless
I first learned what it was like to be a woman
When I was 10
And the men who were supposed to be my mentors
My teachers
My figures
My preacher
It Seems Most Relationships Now... CRASH or BURN... !!!
So Choose A Sound Girl To Have In YOUR WORLD... !!!
BEFORE You Are FORCED To Get A DIVORCE... !!!
Okay... LISTEN Baby...
... " Ya REALLY DON'T Get Me !!! " ...
Life, breath-takingly wonderful
I want to shout as I heave my insides out
Yet I feel so great
Are men from Mars, women from Venus?
A woman aims to improve a man
But a man only wants acceptance
A man for motivation must feel needed
But a woman too must feel cherished
The Dreamer
I can't
give
up still I
keep my
head up.
Living
my life
in dream
what
can I do?
Trying to
survive in
this tough
game.
All I was looking forward to, you;
War made you different,
Now the war is between us two.
What is going to happen to our children?
Crying myself to sleep has become the new norm.
I had my first menstrual cycle at 13
And i have spent my whole life hearing
About the gifts of womanhood
So answer this
Why am i awake late into the night
God created world but wasn't very happy for what he saw
Thought how could He make it better and more interesting
He wasn't sure what He needs to do and pondered for long
Why celebrate a day as the Daughter's Day?
For me every day is a Daughter's Day
Can you imagine a home without a daughter?
A house becomes a home that has a daughter
If a home is the human body daughter is the heart
I am no more than a piece of body
that you choose to take advantage of
I say no you keep it up
But enough is enough
I am more than a body
I am human
KISS ME YOU FOOL!!
I know you understand me
It's uncanny
We have a rhyme Unlike the many we spent time ....
“No.”
(This is my death warrant.)
“I have a date.”
(I’m lying for my life.)
“It’s just a piece of clothing.”
Thank you!
For being the moon in my dark nights,
A good afternoon in the bad days,
The best mom as always...
The rest can't fit in this page,
You don't get tired with age.
None won't be as real as you,
Women are equal,
Just as men,
But when men need help,
They ask another man
A women can do
Anything a man can do
But some men
There are moments when I feel the injustice to my gender more prominently
When I am told in my job orientation that my attire is restricted for the men’s comfortability
I used to believe that this world was fair
That equality was everywhere, didn’t know it was rare
I was naive to believe that people are good
Every month you come to me,Every month I wait,Every month you beat the shit out of me,Every month I ache.
Confused, unbalanced, scared --
The control is gone -
What is my fare?
Milestone hit -- little achieved.
What to do - where to go...
Define passion... define relieved...
Confused, unbalanced, scared --
The control is gone -
What is my fare?
Milestone hit -- little achieved.
What to do - where to go...
Define passion... define relieved...
And who is it that cares to think
anymore as to whatever became
of the former femme fatales-
yesterday's darling divas?
Those once glittering beauties
from the barrios of Denver and L.A.
These Days I'm ... " Hearing " ...
LOTS of Things About Peoples' Relationships ...
ALL Kinds of PROBLEMS Between Women and Men ... ?!?
What Is It Wid' Girls And Their CRAZY World ... ?!?
Headspace FILLED With TWISTED Curls ...
When What's Instilled Is FAKENESS' Served ...
Upon Those Platters That LACK REAL Data ... !!!!!
To recognize the beauty of the
crone
and regard the hag as goddess-
seems ludicrous
revolutionary at the least
- a wild leaping
from current trends,
so-called sensibilities.
Women like me
Women like me will always be judged,
Why can’t women like me just be loved?
I wish i never had features to look like the rest.
Women like me
Women like me will always be judged,
Why can’t women like me just be loved?
I wish i never had features to look like the rest.
Alright, sweetheart.
What’s this about acting the victim,
Again?
Your dress is stained, my dear,
And your hair a rat’s nest.
Funny-
yet in an odd
sort of way,
how men
liken women and cars
to fruit-
of all things.
And we've all heard
the expressions
" She's a peach,"
and-
" It's in cherry condition."
don’t look at me like that
as if you felt what i felt
don’t try to empathize
to make yourself feel better
and then ignore me when i’m falling apart
don’t come near
or look into my eyes
MAN I Sure Can Pick Em' ... !!!!!!
These ... CONFUSED Women ...
It's Like I'm DRAWN Somewhat Forlorn ...
Like A King That's PINNED On An Old Chess Board ...
THIS ONE Was TALL ... Waistline Small ...
You Know it's Funny To Me How Some People Be ...
It's Like HYPOCRISY ... DEFINES Their Breed ... !!!
Like White Girls QUICK To Run Their Lips ...
About Racists Who They Sleep With ... !?!
Lady, there, sipping cappuccino
smelling sweetly of scented soap
jasmine, coconut,
lavender or vanilla.
Are you the worldly
sophisticate
avant-garde
an epitome of fashion
dazzling?
WOMEN ... Raise Children ... !!!
BITCHES Have ... " Kids " ... !!!
WOMEN Are Forgiving ... !!!
BITCHES Have STINGS ... !!!
BITCHES Will Say ... "Men aren't nice to them !' ...
It's Time To MOBILISE Those Who USE THEIR Minds ... !!!
For MORE THAN A Prize Or Bling That Shines ...
Those NOT inclined To Live By LIES Or Hide Behind Their PRIDE FILLED Lives ...
What You CHOOSE Can DAMAGE You ... !!!!!
So Choose WISELY And Make SMART Moves ... !!!
Before You Find Yourself In A BIND ...
That Leaves You TRAPPED With NO Backpack ... !!!
They ... HATE IT Don't They ... ?!?
When You ........................................................... IGNORE Them .....
Some Girls And Women Nowadays ...
REALLY Make Me LAUGH .... !!!!!
They CLEARLY THINK They're SMART ...
So CHOOSE To PLAY The ... " CHASE ME Game " ... !!!
Well ... "Not me babe !" ...
Listen Man … " What you waiting for ? " ...
A Housewife And Mother Who Acts Like A WHORE … !?!
Good Luck With That Man ... !!!
If You Find One Like THAT TRUST Me She's UNIQUE … !!!
First off, lemme just say this is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do
And least of all people, who would’ve thought it had to be to you.
You are the true definition of a ride or die
Watching reflections chased down walkways
As it’s cold and rainy on a day like today
When normally the mood would be ruined
But somehow - the reflection turns up the spirit
The butterflies wings flutter
The volume of a helicopter
The knife fell from the butter
Clank on the kitchen floor
She only wants her Mother
I was birthed into this world
A hardworking clever woman
It started with my sweet mamaw
Who’s stubbornness and lovingness
Could overpower all of the
Spinning sphere’s evil and anger
She's One of THEM Who DISMISSES Men ... !!!!!!!
Because She Says She's INDEPENDENT ... !!!!!
And In This Case THIS ONE Is French ...
I Could Write About Women Every Single Day ... !!!
Because Their Ways Leave My Head ... SPINNING ... !!!
most of her works are
serenades to miracles
that occur daily.
some of her works are
cows will be cows will be cows.
named miraculous.
the miracle is
Do You Ever Get The URGE To Write Down Words ...
Which When Observed Help People ... LEARN ... ?!?
“You’re nothing but a dirty, nasty female”
His words rang in my ear
Rang in the air
The venom in his tone flooded the classroom
What A Shame ... What A Shame ... !!!
You Like To Play Games And CLEARLY Like To SNIFF Cocaine ... !!!
Why Let Your Brain Go Down The Drain Why Be Like THAT Babe PLEASE Explain ... !!!
I know I’m beautiful.
The compliments are nice…
But not new.
Not meaningful.
Not unique.
You told me I was wearing a nice shirt-
Orthopedic surgeon fled Vietnam at age fourteen
Old Lady works full-time and rescues children in between
My doctor doesn't know mother died from a complication of this surgery
To Become English Citizens It's Been ... " Alleged " ...
Some Women Are Willing To ... S P R E A D Their Legs ... !!!
I Guess You Really Can't Blame Them ... !?!
" Lunar House " ... Down There In Croydon ...
BEFORE YOU READ THIS PEOM INVOLVES RAPE
Look down
Keep your phone out
"Take" a call
That way he won't go after you.
Don't look
Don't smile
Don't laugh
As a daughter of the King,
I know I am more than
a number that magically knows my
flaws, imperfections, strengths, desires
and dreams.
I know I am more than
the sterotypical,
Why DENY Me Because I'm Black ... !?!
Why Try To Stab Me In My Back ... !?!
Why PUT ON ACTS ... ?
Why Be Like That ... !?!?!
I'M SAYING Man Stick To THE FACTS ... !!!
the Blood from my Mother
is Thick like Syrup;
Bones don't Crack in this household
i carry the maternal weight
of Generations
i feel their adamant Will in my Gut;
sit up Straight they say
Why Girls ... WHY ... ?
Do You Like To TRY ...
To MESS With The MINDS of .... " LOVING Guys " .... ?!?
Traumatized
Shaking, Crying
not leaving home
because the nightmares keep following you
Keys in your fist
Pepper Spray in the other
So What Are You An ... " Educated Fool " ... !?!
Or One Who THINKS You're ... " GQ Smooth " ... !!!
I'm Neither of These But What Are You ... ?!?
A Woman Using Sexual Tools ... ?!?!?
Girls ... DISTRACT ME ... !!!
Do They Distract YOU ... ?
There's SOMETHING IN The Way They MOVE ... !!!
They Look SO GOOD In ... " High Heel Shoes " ...
Girls These Days Are So Confused ... ?!?
They Seem To Be In ... " Alices' Shoes " ... !?!
YES ... " Wonderland " ... ?!?
Get in the kitchen, that is where you belong
Stay home and clean, that is your job
Look after the family, you wanted this
Don't work to earn money for yourself, do it for me
She was born of woman as a word,
swaddled in question marks but cooed
with answers - statements of soothing reassurance
"Let's Just Be FRIENDS !"
NOW Those Are Words ...
That KNOCK Most Men ... !!!
IF They Come ...
From Their Girlfriend ... !!!
But When We Men ...
Hit Girls With Them ...
What Is It With ...
... " Modern Women " ... ???
That Makes Men Want Them .... ?
Cos' Women These Days ...
Drive Men Round The Bend ... !!!!!
Rape Culture
I was raped.
He took it all away.
And what could Athena do?
I do not blame her. She gave me power.
Now here's a story
most fellas know !
You're chatting in a bar
and see a SHINY STAR !
NOT one up in the sky
but one with female thighs !
She catches yes your eye
when you utilise the mic
We weren't singing for you
We aren’t posting for you
You call us vane?
Yet you picture us this way
In your mind
Made us look at ourselves like
Her intestines have been tied into bows
By the twisted ways of Poseidon.
They decorate her like we do the dead,
And she is a skeleton waiting for dressing.
Where have the Old Gods gone?
Athena walks around college campuses
Books in her bag
And a switchblade under her tongue
Olympic queen of bow and arrow
Artemis draws and releases
Target red, thirty meters
Breathe, anticipation
Wishing it onwards
In search of gold
Pierces true
Hear the
Cheers
Decades decades decades
Each tick of the clock we evolve
Gaining insight, losing primitiveness
We promised to be “American”
1. a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some
natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.
Women die to violence, warranted by their gender
the flashing headlights don't warn her of imminent death
never looking in the backseat, so naive, so tender
car in park, death's arms, a man's arms, steal her breath
my hair used to be my most prized possession
(so i cut it shoulder-length and dyed it black)
as were my dignity and worth, but right now
When we have gone through something traumatic like a guy trying to get in our pants when we are not wanting it
Or we are assaulted or in an abusive relationship
1. When I was a child, I thought my hair a leash, an agony, a nest for rats, so I took up my scissors to hack and slice and cut until it was gone.
Her skin is the ebony of tree bark,
Her hair and her uniform are both writhing shades of blue,
Girls go to college
for knowledge, apparently
knowledge brings power
lesbians are not real, peeping tom.
the ones that u want anyway.
dreamland lesbians:
straight girls in sheep’s clothing
that succumb to men’s advances
eventually.
only existing when u
if i was her boyfriend
i’d invite her to stay
the night at my house
if she likes, she would say
“yes!”, we’d grab snacks
i would nervously rest
my head on her shoulder
o why did I wear a dress?
Silence;
was a man i once ‘loved’
he said he lived in the bath
that perhaps
if i held my head
below water
Growing up I had a perception of the world,
one that was filled with happiness, love, and friendship,
but it soon began to slowly fade, just like past memories.
My lists bring me closer to perfection,
Or at least lead me in the right direction.
To be the perfect woman,
Requires much dissection.
How you walk, how you talk, and the clothes that you wear,
"mamá,
i’m not a kid anymore!"
she raises her right eyebrow in disapproval— the look.
clack... clack...clack...
How can
Men control our bodies
When
They refuse to wear a condom
Or
Even knows how a tampon works
Instead of sticking them
Up your nose
Why don't you educate yourself
because
Try
When I was a child
I was innocent
I was free as the leaves I chased
I was living in wonder.
but Childhood leaves us.
Balance
I go to the city to gain the knowledge and grab the tools.
I deepen my practice and learn the rules.
In the city is where the people are.
Where the jobs are,
0 degrees:
When you are born a girl pink is your life.
Your shoes, your dress, your hair bow.
It's a pretty cool color.
90 degrees:
The crowds sang her fate
50 philosophers, she converted-
But not one, would share her estate
She stood, keeping her eyes on God
Lost to an act so long ago, a kid already but I didn’t know
what it was you that you did and yet although
I was so naïve I could tell how wrong it was to not go
The city street is their territory
And we are their prey.
I used to not mind it so much.
Their stares.
And their piercing howls.
You make the world come alive
You are the inspiration for nations to strive
You are the queens behind the victorious sovereign
You are the prosperous to us, you are God's blessing
Some souls burn bright
Passion and fire mix and fight
Twist and turn
Every breath feels like you're gulping air and inhaling water
There is a churning in your heart
Your soul leaps to beat against your ribs,
“It’s not rape if you like it”
a sentence created from arrogance
”it’s not rape if you like it”
a sentence formed by the uneducated
“it’s not rape if you like it”
do you mean arousal non-concordance
I see her
A girl, a small ignorant girl
Looking back at my eyes
She’s angry, she’s sad
She’s crying, she’s mad
Because inside her, her spirit dies
She told me that being strong meant to suffer.
And I couldn't possibly fathom her words,
What mother, after all, tells her child to suffer?
Here we flutter, soar, and fly
Abuzz, for all to see, an iridescent sky
Our pride, with which we manage,
Asserting our presence, flags raised high,
I was hanging on by a thread,
Fear grasped on to me
I hyperventilated, thinking of it made me sweat.
I was never strong enough,
Bold enough,
Courageous enough,
To leave the cage I was bound to.
The past three years have been the
hardest
strongest
most vulnerable
time of my life.
2016
granny died suddenly, stage 4 pancreatic cancer
two weeks,
three days,
gone.
I'm good with children -- an axiom,
A loom that weaves tapestries of branching fates:
One depicts a teacher,
Another, a counselor,
A third, a nanny,
And all, a Mother.
Shadow...
Now she's the girl he told everyone about,
bragging, changing, manipulating the reality of what really happened.
She got stripped of her clothes, stripped of her trust, stripped of her youth.
Lost to an act so long ago, a kid already but I didn’t know
what it was you that you did and yet although
I was so naïve I could tell how wrong it was to not go
I
Lazarus Shatipamba
Was in a friends car
When i saw you from afar.
Though my eyes were slightly ajar
I did see how you carry yourself like the wind
So its no suprise that you blew my resolve away
Illustrious,
She is Illustrious.
Confidence glints off every step,
Basking in the respect and admiration from past victories.
She is Illustrious.
i used to try on my father’s clothes
his attire never seemed to fit me,
in his eyes anyway.
i felt the emptiness in his
work shirt,
envying how it compared to my shoes.
leather and sole,
March 1997.
A 32-year old Pakistani man leaves his village, wife, and young son in Gujrat, Punjab
He went to New York even though the distance made his heart throb
I am a beautiful black girl
I was born with curly black hair
I have beautiful melanin skin
Beautiful full lips
No filters
No make up
I am all natural
At the age of twelve, after the ceremonial blood bath, my mother sat me down and told me that I would have to be a women. A women. There was rules to the name. To be a women you must grow your hair.
In a stereotypical patriarchal society,
I would soon have wifely duties
and keep my mouth shut.
How boring.
"Your poor boyfriend," they say
because I remind him, in the future,
Armies of men fall at the feet of Beauty, and we're taught that women are weak.
Men watch their brothers transform into monsters, and we're taught that real men don't cry.
I became a real waitress
when I started moving through tables with my hips
leaning over the table without spilling.
At night, men
tumble out of pick-up trucks.
From across the parking lot, I hold
Theseus’s paradox raises the question
If a ship’s parts are replaced as they rot
One by one, until all of the parts are new,
Is it the same ship?
I remember I couldn’t reach my pants
They were far away in the night
My back hurt from lying on the ground
under your weight; you the boy
I looked up at the sky
Wondered who am i ?
Will I be defined by my gender
Or by the women before me
She is ample
long, luxurious locks
that unlock me
plentiful, sloping curves
that my tongue skiis down
she provides rich milk
nourishing my pounding heart
soft, plump lips whispering
Look at me...You will see my long, brown hair Look at me...You will see my big brown eyesLook at me... You will see my tanned, ashy skin Look at me...You will see my worn out shoes Look at me...You will see how helpless I appear, begging in the s
I hate the way she looks;
But I want to look just like her.
Her olive skin and dark hair,
Her hips that curve wider and wider.
But that’s her not me.
She’s fake but I’m not good enough either.
My light whispers to me
I am a woman grown;
Called beyond waters I have not yet known
Wisp of mist display secrets I have not yet shown
Do not tell me I should of been raised to protect myself
When you were never raised to respect me.
Do not tell me I should of worn less clothes
When you wore less than I had on.
Isn't it odd that I consider myself lucky
That no unwanted man has ever put his grubby hands on me?
This is not about luck though, or the clothes I've been wearing
I've known thirty-year-old boys
and seventeen-year-old men
because being a man
has less to do with how many years
you've spent shaving your neck
than how you treat those who look at you
It is 2018.
It is time.
Time to end the stereotypes and say its fine.
Throw away your barbies.
And say it out loud!
I won’t take it anymore
What Is Sex Really About?
Someone once asked me, what is sex really about?
Is it when a man climax and your name he utters out?
Is it the intimacy of the act between a woman and man?
She didn’t notice, at first
That anything was wrong
She always felt whole
But They told her she couldn’t be
She was not Right
Not the right size
Momma, Grandma, Aunties and Great Aunties
And all the others that came before you and me
Thank you for shaping me
Wombs.
It’s where we all come from
And it would be wise to
Respect
Them.
Too many times
It’s taken upon
Men
To neglect
Them.
Degrade them.
And even
A viper can choose, consciously,
how much venom to release
with each encounter, as if
he knows which birthdays to forget
and which biting remark
they all give me wary eyes
cross the road to avoid crossing paths
pull their children closer
holding them tighter
the drunk men hoot at my covered behind
"Allahu Akbar"
they say
It really breaks my heart
To see that we made it this far
But nevertheless they’re here
And they want the progress to disappear
It is stunning in the wrong way
They don’t leave us space to have a say
giver of birth
and the reason of me
you sacrificed your hunger
so i could feed off of your breast
you gave up sleep
so i could have mine
oh how i wish i could remember your face
Women are the weakest.
Never will you hear anyone say
girls are not necessary for more than reproduction
How can we say
women are not just on earth to be men’s partner.
It is impossible that
My life was a hot mess.
The daily abuse
Left me in spirit
Alone and confused.
Five years of this stuff
Was more than enough
To reshape my person
And turn me to mush.
This, this is poetry, the abstract sitting beside me, like a long lost friend exchanging thoughtful memories while Discarded thoughts of tomorrow sit like old men, forgetting themselves over the horizon remaining just beyond the water's edge remin
I didn’t ask for your approval.
I didn’t ask for you to be my mirror on the wall.
I didn’t ask for your comments as I crossed the street.
I didn’t ask for your filthy cat call.
golden girl you are more
your skin
smoother
than the finest belgian chocolate
it glows like
Dear Men,
I can't even remember the first time I was catcalled as it happens so frequently
it now feels like a routine.
Pretty ladies with a handsome man
Flock and squawk nonsensically
Are silly and full of mindless fantasies
The man is powerful
He can do anything
Beautiful lady with a crowd of men
Pretty ladies with a handsome man
Flock and squawk nonsensically
Are silly and full of mindless fantasies
The man is powerful
He can do anything
Beautiful lady with a crowd of men
I need a job
I need a life
I need you
Far from perfect we are born
With some of us feeling more privileged than others
The one commonality we share is disappointment
Nine year old me,
wrote how she hated to be,
enclapsed in a world,
full of misery.
Thirteen year old me,
hated to see
how the world,
percieved women to be.
S e l f d o u b t d r i v e s h u m a n i t y t o i r r a t i o n a l b e h a v i o r.
“Do you think you can forgive me?”
He asked me this while there was still blood between my teeth.
He asked me this while I held my own right thumb, because
Woman, Girl – Lift up!
For far too long your shoulders
have bent forward from the weight of
the despair of injustice, inequality,
mistreatment, ignorance,
devalue, degradation and disregard.
You water me with your reassurance
You made me feel beautiful
You dowzed me with sun
You forgot to water me
You left me to welt
You told me I was pretty
Yet you left me out to welt
Dear Mr President,
Why must women be placed on a pedistool for you to notice that we are people too.
Why must lingerie and nude models please you rather than your promise to make America great again.
You were my best friend
Or at least I'd like to pretend
But i guess every story has two sides
I remember that morning you were more than just my friend,
SHE WANTED THE WORLD IN HER HANDS
TO RULE THE LAND AND SEA
SHE WANTED THE WIND IN HER HAIR
AS SHE SPED IN HER BENZ
SHE ALMOST HAD IT ALL
BUT THEN SHE MET HIM
SHE FELL FOR HIM
you were my day and night
you were balanced
everything was as nature intended
but your nights got longer
the days ended sooner
you started suffocating me into your dark dimension
you were my sunrise
my warm happy day
the sky under which children played
and people dreamed
they looked up at you and would see beauty
you were my purple orange red yellow sunset
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's ass,
For jealousy leads to hate.
But damn, she has such a nice, fat ass,
And everything else she has is great.
Not every girl is Rosie the Riveter
Not every girl is a housewife
You’re so hellbent on labeling us
On shelving us, filing us away neatly
You don’t even consider the middle ground
There’s a soft patter
of mice in the attic,
as they rummage around
in cardboard boxes,
opening their eyes
to the brilliant streak of sunlight
It's not a lackIt's not a wound...my vaginaIt's not where a penis ought to beIt's where I choose to stick one-or notKeep all your fraud and imagined penis envy out of my vagina.
Oh she too dark.
Oh she too picky.
Oh she too skimpy.
And her hair looks nappy.
But she looks at herself...
And she thinks happy.
She ain’t wimpy.
More so
Out here getting
I am a slut
And I refuse to believe that
Women have a right to their bodies
I realize this may be a shock, but
Saying “Don’t Get Raped,” rather than “Don’t Rape”
Is a lie, and
To All, There’s just one thing I don’t get,this one thing, almost a threat.The one reason all wish to abet________________________________ Why am I viewed as a damsel in distressFor what reason am I subject to sorrowAnd why do all think with their
Hi, I'm skinny
I am five feet seven inches and weigh one hundred and five pounds
Yes, I have a flat stomach
Yes, You can see my collar bones
Yes, I have a thigh gap
And no, that does not make me beautiful
Dear You,
The day we met
Was one I couldn’t forget.
You were my first
And I wished you were my last.
Things were great
Then I started to hate.
Google Translate ‘yaya’ from Filipino to English:
governess, nurse, maid (show less translations)
i cannot remember the first day i met you,
Dear Jessica,
What does a man feel like?
Is he soft like trampled moss?
Or scratchy like peeled back bark?
Does his smile warm your heart?
Dear Jessica,
What does a man feel like?
Is he soft like trampled moss?
Or scratchy like peeled back bark?
Does his smile warm your heart?
To you,
You know who you are,
so dare I write your name? Dare I continue writing?
I dare because that is what you taught me to do.
“Dream on, dream big, never be subpar,”
At the bottom of the food chain
This was the beginning of my campaign
and the start of my reign
Soccer was my passtime
I begun the climb
Meeting friends and was in my prime
Little Sister,
Please, baby sister
Stop tearing at your body.
Your heart
Your soul
Is crying,
Baby sister
You will never find purpose in the clouds of smoke
Dear You,
This is for you.
When you pulled my hair on the playground because you liked me.
My childlike mind accepted the tugs, not realizing using the word "No" was acceptable.
dear the person we thought we could trust,
here's to another night,
of being curled in a ball,
sobbing out my emotions.
you hurt me again.
and it left me confused as to why?
She waited,
Emotionally drained,
Physically pained,
But still captivated.
Time freeze,
She found him in the breeze,
She knew she was going to be fine,
To Her
Dearest, fondest one to my heart
My eyes do beweep themselves on thought of you alone
There are not many things I could say to you
That have not been said a thousand times before
Dear Mr. Fitzgerald,
Your story The Great Gatsby is a novel I admire greatly.
And ever since I read it, I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you that you’ve got it all wrong.
Talking.
Talking is hard.
Breathing, eating, sleeping.
It all seems hard.
From the time I was a young girl to now, everything has been hard.
Exspressing my feelings is hard but I have a dream.
we are people, not objects or products, not apologies or excusesoften dehumanized and abused, as if we are not your sisters, mothers and daughtersmen have the audacity to mistreat
The Black (pt. 1)
I am not sure what I was expecting
Here;
We have this-
This potential
And those who chip away at it
With their gold encrusted pick axes
they say we don't write letters
but I wrote 'em
just last year
christmas alone
the only thing I wanted was to speak
but he was
cities
towns
states
ah, look at you.
you’re a plum pit to me,
a cratered seed of stability
amidst rotting flesh,
the nectar of bee stings
rolling off you
A woman's heart will bear the weight of 1,000 deaths
before it becomes at peace with the reality
that she will not achieve validation in the end.
Validation that she was good enough.
Good enough to be worth it.
Little eyes, Asian eyes
I didn't know the window to my soul
Told such lies
Not on the whole
These eyes of mine are small
Yes, but that's not me
Assumptions from all
On who I must be
Beauty impossible for just one to obtain
Roots so deep
Branches both long and graceful
Facade hiding what’s inside
things fall apart
but that is only the start
of a journey that may last days
or years
full of things,
only you can hear
you travel down a path made of gravel
encrusting you with scars
blooming from my darkest parts
begun the change in my heart
shifting with sunshine
my flowers are growing,
wisdom and knowledge flowing
showing me my power & potential
Dear Donald Drumpf,
I don’t quite see the appeal
Of a walrus wearing a toupee
Shouting out obscenities while I stand here in dismay
The country is in shambles
Dear young women,
One day, you'll have your hair pulled by a boy and
You'll hear your grandpa tell you he just has a crush on you,
That he's just a boy, so what else could you expect?
Smooth skin, made up face, forced smile.
Perfect body.
Why should I conform to society's standards?
My leg hair has grown, my face is bare, my smile is natural.
My body is imperfect.
And I love it.
Verse 1:
I am one of billions of women
Who was put on this runway called Earth
Where appearances, incomes, and people we know
are averaged to total our worth.
I grew up calling my vagina a 'chhee-chhee'
('Chee' being a Hindi interjection for 'disgust')
Honestly,my vagina wasn't that bad a stuff,
But,my mum taught me that,
So,it got to be correct
At five,
when I fell off my bicycle for the first time and bled,
my mum leapt in to pick me up and ,"Honey!”, she said, “You know why Superman has a cape that is red?"
I held a rose today
I grasped its thorns aggressively
My ring finger was pricked
As if nature had told me,
“She is far too exquisite to be tainted
by those who do not understand
Bald isn't a curse!
Hair seems to be the epitome of beauty
Keeping it kept up seems to be a woman's duty
Keep it long keep it thick
Edges laid edges slicked
Outside yea its brick
As a beautiful woman
jaws drop crooked
eyes peel open and cross
when vulgarity drips from my mouth
my supple lips should not speak with such rage
they do not open and close on command
Society its always the answer or the well thought out solution.
theres no room for any type of change or evolution,
When you know the revolution, won’t be televised but you stayed tuned in.
Walking down the street,
Not a worry in mind.
People around every corner
And every door.
What are my thoughts?
I can't think.
What are my intentions?
I just want to go to the store.
In a world where
Women
Fight
Patriarchy
Misogyny
Sexism
There’s a new breed of witlessness
A group
Aurora is the definition of beauty- skinny and p-r-e-t-t-y.
Who needs a personality when men will fall for your appearance?
Ariel is selfless and brave.
Bitter Sweet Exhaustion
I wish I would have known
I wish I would have known
That beauty is a just shapeshifter that turns into the nightmare shown
He knelt down on one knee for you
Eyes to yours, hand in his pocket
Your gaze jumping everywhere except for his
Your chest dropped to your stomach, thoughts becoming silent prayers
I cannot sleep for saddness
nor for ill thoughts
I cannot sleep for grief in my heart and pain in my mind
There is a sickness in my drumming on my skull
NO NO NO
played over again
The powerful women
leap with joy over
the painted and indelible story
they killed quietly
with the eve of everything true.
In unconventional status,
they talk of
a paradise for triumph,
There was always a struggle between inner and outer.
My inner screamed leave, but my outer wouldn’t budge.
You sent a split through my control and you took half.
From whatever distant island you're
viewing me from today:
I have conquests on nations.
But you can't see that through a lens,
or a message,
or That letter I never replied to
My hair is long, which is nice, but I have too many split ends,
My natural hair is wavy, not straight like theirs in my defense,
I’m short, I could never be a model, I don’t have the body for that,
a woman so full in her figure and bright her mind is the most beautiful presence on this celestial rock
(her curves so soft) my hands stroking her thighs and gripping her waist she (moans)
There's nothing as great and as bitter
As my hatred of humankind
I speak with my mind
As you read these words, let me be heard
When have you seen such disaster?
Do we not have a Master?
I'm sorry I woke you
You used to say I could.
You crossed your fingers, nodded your head, like I knew you always would.
You whisper sweet words of decit, as you look into my eyes
Today I drowned in the ocean you created
The ocean of blood that you watched spill
Spill from the eyes that are now deflated
The eyes you used to carry me into the dark
The dark you thought would blind me
Sisters-
If a man ever pleads
with you, saying, "It's
what all guys do
to girls," it is
your job to tell him
but one thing:
be different.
My mom is blount, but kind. She is loud, but she listens when the time is needed to listen. I watched her carefully as I grown into a man. I learned how to be kind and a great listener from her.
I feel like your choking me when i am around you,
but i breath, because i love you.
I tried to fight my feelings,
but victory was impossible, because i love you.
We were born and raised in a society
Where our worth is determined by our waistlines,
Where the size of our butts are more important
Than the size of our brains.
We have trembled against men,
We have feared the rise of men
Yet we continue to shout
We shout our rights,
We shout our rights to be equal
my baby he loves me
so he tells me (you’re a chore) to
break me open like a tidal wave and
i will always return to him to this love
this is love
She is the calm before the stormThe lightning bolt that strikesTake her as she isShe is a womanof might
I am not your baby
You did not give me life
I was never your joy
I was never your pride
I am not a dog
I don’t respond to whistles
And shouting, “Aye Shawty”
Will only result in dismissal
Powering my rage -
I am walking down the street,
Summer evening light,
Still warm
Dozy, disgusting, disheveled
From the day and the drive,
And I hear
THE COMMENT.
They say that love always wins,
but sometimes I can't be sure.
I want to believe the world can be a safe place for me,
but when I'm downtown for open mic, it's always:
Check your skirt length.
Love is patient.
Love is kind.
I've heard it all.
But I don't know if I believe any of it
They should change that
Love should be patient
Love should be kind
Love destroys
He loves me when I smile
He loves me when I laugh
He loves me even when he calls me silly names
He loves me when he calls me bitch or stupid
I don't care when his words are mean
Because he loves me
I love you but you don’t know
Yet
How I gaze at you through your bedroom windows
How I marvel at your beauty as you study in the library
My momma told to never be afraid of anything, but two things
El cucuy and sometimes her chancla.
I was raised in a ear pulling, frijole smelling, cumbia playing
Soulful -she's beautyVibrating in her essenceEvolving within her spirit She is beaming from her light.
My wrist burned as he held my arm tight, his thumb digging into my bone.
“You know I can’t control how jealous I get.”
Words ringing in my ears like the wedding bells I wish I had run from.
I am a girl. I am a woman. My sex is girl. I am powerful. I am worthy. In this man made world, I am sturdy. I will not let you look at me any less than you look at yourself. I am amazing. I will NOT LET YOU BELITTLE
The question I ask myselfWhy they look at youAs if you're half nakedWhy they look at youAs if you're a piece of cake baked
Once, long ago, (think back, if you will)
Stood a beautiful palace on top of a hill;
And under that palace, a kingdom that’s not
When I stare at her,she dies a littleThe more erotic look I give,The more she suffersShe gives me a glance of suffering;I enjoy a littleWhen it discomforts her
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; }
Fair-skinned, beautiful, and kind
She sings, birds listen, and fly to her hand
The World fights against her, and she smiles still.
This is the Fairy-tale Princess,
I am not Cinderella
But I happen to have her shoe size
A coy smile
And I’ve come to the conclusion
That this
Is enough
For a man
I am not Cinderella
But I happen to have her shoe size
A coy smile
And I’ve come to the conclusion
That this
Is enough
For a man
“Oh Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your hair.”
“Since that is the ladder, I will climb it, and seek my fortune.”
Sure you could climb up halfway,
Your boyish valor shining brighter than the sword at your hip,
Once upon a time
When knights in armor shined
There waited a young princess
Who had many hobbies and interests
Yet at the very thought of marriage, she felt herself grow distant
Snow White doesn't stay in a house.
She doesn't depend on a variety of dwarves who grump about.
She goes outside.
There once was a princess that did everything right.
She didn't lie,
she didn't swear,
and said her prayers every night.
She kept up with her studies
and aced every test.
In stories like Cinderella,
the princesses always end up with a prince.
But what if they didn’t?
Would the endings make you wince?
Once upon a time they made me a queen
he said it was because my skin glistened with a sheen
unmatched by others
it was the glow of youth that made me your stepmother
married now and praised by all
A woman who speaks her mind without hesitation.
A woman who follows her own path and dismisses the disapproving voices.
A woman who knows her limits and knows that we are lifelong learners.
My sisters name is Ariel, I am sure you all know her.
She has such a soft heart and I've seen her conquer.
We live in the ocean and she fell in love.
She ran away to go live up above.
My mother got me pepper spray for Christmas and at the time I scoffed. She told me she just wants me to be safe and I asked what from; she just gave me THAT LOOK. Every time I go running I strap it to my arm.
I am a host for a parasite,
A parasite whose disease has sucked on my mind,
Leaching my hope,
Leaching my sanity,
Raping me of all personality.
Since when did Princess
mean damsel in distress?
Since when did beauty
become our strict standard?
Since when did worth
correlate to marriage?
I am intelligent
Once upon a time…
There was this lovely lady who wanted nothing more than to be free from her wicked step-mother and sisters
After a few months of putting up with the abuse she left, disappeared to never return
She can always see her princess-perfect heart shaped face in the window
Doe eyes just big enough to weigh down the organ she pretends is still her heart
Once upon a midnight dreary
Cinderella could see her future clearly
A life in a house
With step-mother louse
Cinderella's eyes got quite bleary.
Enough of this! She blarted
As she stood
Whatever your beliefs.
Atoms colliding or Adam and Eve.
We should thank the architect for the greatest design.
Chemistry, biological or divine.
Believe what you will, nobody can deny.
Nobody goes out asking for it.
When I walk out,I am a statementnot be ignoredbut not be taken advantage of.
It is hot
The window is open, but the breeze only brings in dust and dry heat
We have asked for fans
Because enough young girls have fainted
you told my best friend I changed your life,
then you asked for my name
and I guess I can say you changed my life too
because I remember words in the back of my head
that I couldn’t get out because there
They hurt my feet
these slippers red as a beet
I don't want to go to a fancy hall
or wear makeup on my face
in this "gorgeous" sheet.
but those horrible sisters and mom they say
Things the men in my life have said to me:
"Yo girl, how you doin"
When I didn't respond, he repeated himself
Like I needed to be told again to respond to men
"Yo girl, bring that ass over here"
America the great
The beautiful
The selfish
The blind
The ignorant
When will you realize that women are much more
More than
Who the hell are YOU?
Who are YOU to tell ME what I can and cannot wear?
Who gave YOU the right to decide what I do with MY body?
Who are YOU to touch ME without MY consent?
America isn't great, nor, will it ever be because
We sexualize young women but
tell them to wait until marriage.
she cringed every time your fingertips traced down her back, pulling her closer to you.
Born into a place that depicits my race as something bad, as something less than them.
Born into a place that thrives on the white face.
That white is pure and anything of color is a disgrace.
You taught me how to be a "man"
My bad. You taught me how to be responsible
You taught me to stare at the obstacles
And overcome the impossible
You taught me that sometimes
I must blaze my own trail
from the steps of lewis and clark
to the marches of those fighting
war of 1812,
mexican american 1846
civil war 1861
the boats of immigrants wanting better life
I went to the Women’s March
With my freshman year boyfriend
I cried and cried and he asked
“Why are you crying?
Isn’t this a good sign?”
He couldn’t understand.
Woman:
An adult human female
Girl:
A female child
Daughter:
Any female descendant.
Sister:
A great nation would help our brothers and sisters
they need us more than we can imagine
but instead of allowing our global citizens into our hearts and our homes
we push them further away
Finally I've come to this realization
That you've never planned on staying
Even with all of your dedication
We've grown up
being told that we can become anything.
But the white lies turn into
the darkness that consumes you.
Because once your hopes get high enough,
they come crashing down and
When I was seventeen, I had a friend
With sparkling eyes and a contagious smile
She had a fire for life and goals to achieve
Two men ripped away her aspirations
For men, there is no ceiling to hit, nothing restricting them,
But for women, there is a glass ceiling.
They can see through it, they can see what they could have.
I won’t turn on the news when I watch TV
Because I can’t handle the things I know I will see
Instead I watch comedies and try to push them from my mind
i run with thighs that carry my burdens
thighs that curve and give me form
thighs that hug at my waist embracing me like love
i run with passion as my chest moves like
Dear Mr. President
By: Princesa A. Santiago
Dear Mr. President
thanks to you this country has never been greater,
Who gave you the right to use us at your disposal?
In the end,
you'll be alone---
like an empty vessel
stuck with resinating regret.
Are you aware that you're leading to your own self destruction?
“Grab them by the p***y”
Is that all women are to the president?
Something to be groped and violated?
To all the little girls out there, who don’t like to be told what to wear or how to behave
That like their hair short, and don’t mind to be called ‘tomboy’
And don’t like to play with dolls, so they have other toys.
America made me,
half believing in my dreams
half knowing I would have to fight for my life
battling the words meant to kill me,
giants spitting words
the united statesin a separated stateMinorities vs Majorities brother vs brother separated like oil and vinegar because Liberty and Justice For All only quailifies when your Caucasian father and motherpull 100K a yearno justice for the black boy w
God Bless America!
Where the grand homes spit on the peasent who make the ground they walk on
God Bless America!
Where black infestation is eliminated by the wonderful cops who are suppose to be protection
"Are you ready now?" whispered the wind,
gently folding its warmth around her
enveloping her in a tight embrace,
holding her away from all living eyes.
The path's been chosen, the leaves are black,
She's a woman, what has she to say?
Truth be told, I could list off every issue, I could tell you all day.
I know how you think, I know how your mind works.
After all, being male has to have its perks.
Oh crown thy good in brotherhood
and sisterhood.
Crown the days the weeks the months
we spend with our backs bent
over the stoves and our hips
holding our children.
Crown us Queens,
Every morning,
I wake up with a lighter heart.
I no longer bare any resentment.
Because here I lay,
Reminiscing each day
Remembering how I fell to you.
How dumb was I?
Don’t tell me what I am meant to wantDon’t limit me to your brain’s capacitySociety was only made to flauntthe very flaws within societyA culture built on fear and hateWhat other outcome could be in store?A woman’s job is it sit and waitAny more t
I’m laughing, smiling,
Dancing like I own the world at age seven.
Stars handpicked like strawberries for only my eyes to eat
Nothing could tear me down.
mommy,you told me i was made ofthe galaxyand its brightest stars.then why did grandpa frown upon my sightand make us sit at another table?
I am
A woman
Belittled
Degraded
Insignificant
The consequences of my
Gender
I watch white
wealthy
middle-aged
men
in stiff suits
pick and chose
Can I be quiet?
Can I watch and just observe?
Can I just be
and not spend every second of my day proving that I am worthy of being heard?
This year, I burned myself away
I let myself wilt
Without dismay
Often, I was horrified
A world in meltdown
Triggered my pride
And let me drown
I got up, though
I always came around
I flew,
past the skyscrapers tracing in the sky,
up an alleyway, dark and dangerous,
through the moon as it smiled at me.
With shining yellow eyes, she called me her daughter,
and I just nodded and agreed.
Keep your shrill voice quiet, you’re disturbing the men at work.
Actually, it’s preferred you don’t speak at all, honey.
“Go get me a beer, baby,” he’s saying.
We believe in the constitution, even willing to bet our lives on it, yet we aren’t even sure it’s actually complete
The equal rights amendment has never been truly ratified
"You should smile more," he says
I remain silent, now on edge, awakened
I pray my silence will be matched in return
Unfortunately for me, I am quite mistaken
"C'mon sweetie, why don't you smile for me?"
Love is such a broad term
Heart ache
Heart break
Heartburn
So many of the people in this world are filled with love,
"My rapist doesn't know he's a rapist.
You taught him that it wasn't his fault - I drank too much,
Flirted too much & wore tight shorts.
He left me in a parking garages staircase.
The blood, sweat and tears she lay,
as she smiles from day to day.
Sweet as flowers of a rose,
Bitter than a lemon that grows.
Clear as the blue skies and birds that flew,
but little did she knew.
There are minimal downsides to being a Poet,
But one of the few is that it's difficult to simultaneously be One
As well as the girl you want me to be.
It's difficult becuase we'll be in English class,
If the Angels fell for women how long can man escape from the snare of women.
Her words hold the weight of the world.
She speaks happiness into a mans life.
She multiplies the seed of man.
Mirror, mirror can't you see? What lies beautifully
and elegant in front of you? Who is she?
She looks into the mirror as if looking at
someone else as she rubs her hands through
Seventeen years of life experience and I'm still not qualified for the job, because everyone thinks I'm either too young or too dumb. Pressured by society to look thin and tan, but we can hardly face each other man to man.
I expose my soul
To the world
To the people
To my friends
To my enemies.
I tell what I feel
To whom I feel for.
I speak my mind.
I share a hug every time
Time goes byAnd I am still inside this crystal globeDaydreamingThinking about how life would beas if you were still here.
I want to hold
I want to kiss
I want to touch
I want to rub
I want to cuddle
I want to stare
I want to smile
I want to laugh
I want to LOVE
I lie here and I think about what we could of had,
you were like a puzzle to me that I wish to put together
you always seemed down, and I wanted to bring you up
you seemed to be lost, and I thought I found you
Her prowess is unparalleled,
Suppression never dissuaded all that she is--
An ephemeral incandescence-- ceasing relentlessly
He walks with a step more than man Bowing beneath the doorway of her room And when he speaks it replaces the air Like cigar smoke He urges her to sit as he lights the fireplace Though she is already hot He stalks to her and his fingertips are rou
Yes. I am a girl,
and no, that doesn't make me weak.
I'm a girl,
and no, that doesn't make me meek.
Just because I'm shorter and smaller
doesn't mean you can holler
at me, and cat call as I walk by,
How would it feel if you put your bloodsweatandtears into advancing the world
And no one knew your name
No one knew how hard you tried
*************THE GIRL OF MY DREAMS*************** The girl of my dreams-is a nightmare. Acts like she likes me, but doesn't play fair. Pretends that she loves - she doesn't really care. Pushes deep drama - almost to much to bare.
*************THE GIRL OF MY DREAMS*************** The girl of my dreamsis a nightmare. Acts like she likes me,but doesn't play fair. Pretends that she loves-she doesn't really care. Pushes deep dramaalmost to much to bare. Pulls on my heart, then
Just because I'm black doesn't mean I do drugs ,
Just cause I'm not fair skin I know I am still loved.
Just because my hair is not soft like silk doesn't mean I'm worthless ,
My beauty comes from within .
I am dark and lovely.
My skin glows with melanin.
It is naturally unique.
I am dark and lovely.
My hair is full of natural kinks, coils, curls.
I don't need a relaxer.
I get up in the morning because I’m angry
Angry at the world, angry at the people in it
Angry how the color of someone’s skin determines how they’re treated
I am just a girl.
Unaware and overdressed.
Spent too long looking in the mirror
You weren’t there I guess
That girl you just made derogatory comments to,
Doesnt want you.
She didn't dress in any way for you.
Although it probably doesn't shake her,
As young girl she's had heard it too
I'm a girl, such a pearl, Call me 'nice tits", I think I might hurl. I'm blonde so I'm dumb not really, just numb I have all A's, i must be a teacher's pet I study under my parent's threat Never had a boyfriend, prude as can be I've had girlfrien
I’ve spat out every single forbidden thing I was told not to do as a child Because it was too american Or un-american Or unladylike And un-me I swallowed every drop of teen rebellion And got drunk on every ounce of its bittersweet taste
I grew up in the unfenced yard so I had to be the
homecoming queen
and he the starting quarterback.
Make straight A’s and never sleep,
The Trinity
VICTIM
I stand alone.
I stand unheard, unnoticed.
I am on my own.
And the world cannot see.
Confined to space and time am I
And I cannot try
Life was put into me and in an overtime instance, I was hooked.
Not one soul could take away the love I had for you.
Your smile. My smile. We internally matched. Were one. Whole.
I'm going to tell you a story. It's about a girl who thought she was extraordinary.
I don’t love you at all.
And before you glare at me with those squinted eyes,
Before you place your hands akimbo,
Before you wiggle your neck at me and say, “Excuse me?!”
Excuse me while I light my spliff.
In a quagmire of misery the girl wallows.
Her feminism a bitter pill to swallow.
It’s a man’s world, so a man’s code she should follow,
Is a lie they tell her and if only the society would allow,
I am a woman of weakness.<br> I will never believe that <br> I can succeed at anything<br> And because I know<br> I am a failure and a waste like people say<br> I just don't understand how<br> I can be brave and
One is torn from the inside out as the death of life and the consequence of the original sin of \mankind manifests its estrogenic massacre;/
The red of the fruit \of the knowledge of good and evil pollutes /white linen so neatly;
Dear Mother Society,
The ideal child,
I did as I was told.
“Close your eyes”
This world is innocent,
if seen by the eyes of the blind.
The ideal child,
I did as I was told.
For all my favorite Roses Born into tragedy; she is celebrated, adored, nurtured, envied, blessed - she is beaten, sacrificed, scrutinized, enslaved, damned -
dont be too fat
dont be too thin
for gods sake dont be so loud
you are too quiet
dont be a tease
why are you such a prude
dont be a ditz
let me lecture you on your doctorate
I gaze blankly into the sky and the
Tears are dry.
Maybe it’s just my uterus
Talking—the smooth,
Smug woman’s voice on the ad tells
GROWTH OF A WOMAN foundation soil brown green grow from the roots to the trunk to the stems to the leaves birth of a nation combustion of the sun pineal gland exploded to conceive this gravitational cycle of planets molded into a wound holding a
Her heart as deep as the ocean
She is mysterious like the other side of the moon
Her intellect as bright as the stars
Her skin glows like a million suns
She is as fierce asa cheetah
"Oh, baby! What I'd like to do to you!"
What'd you think that'd make me want to do?
I wish I could let out the anger in me,
but I know that it's safer to just let it be.
She once knew a man who made her forget the difference between the sun and the moon. Someone who stood up before she even felt the need too.
She dressed in all black,
with the most colourful mind.
Questioning the universe
about how beauty is defined.
Is it not strange that autumn is so beautiful,
yet everything is dying?
I am a mother of two. I have nothing, but innovation and imagination. I promised myself as a kid that I would abberate myself from the norm.
The mirror speaks her financial advisor
invest in the stocks and bonds
of the soft skin on her arms
softer than the sands slipping through
dirty fingers playing in Jamaica's naked land
It's an echo of society
it instills this insecurity
and encourages us
to fade into obscurity
to accept medicority
lest we be criticized
to refuse idolization
a compliment little more than
Dear class,
Welcome to 2016.
where we’ve had someone walk on the moon
and a black president
but still haven’t completely wiped the dust from the word
There's something deep about this love.
Deep goes the love that flows from our Father's heart.
How far does it go?
We don't know,
but yet we do know.
Because a man died and rose from the grave.
She is the Elephant.
She stomps in to make everybody know she is here to stay.
Following along, is her younglings that she will protect till the day she is no more.
She is the Elephant.
The rhythm of my heart is no rival
For the movement of your wandering eye.
Her lithe figure signals her arrival
My cadence lulls, watching, undignified
LISTEN, who told you that God could not be a woman?I am almost 6 feet under my own fearsand I have no holy power to turn tothat is a reflection of me.Who shoved their generationally skewed
She is a wife, a treasure that should be beloved!
From the ground, she walks on to the air she breathes above
She is a mother, a precious gift!
Without her, life would not exist
She saw me once standing there, helping her mother
out of the bus and she smiles at me with her crooked teeth.
Her blonde hair waves to me in the frisky wind
And her purple blouse screams to me diva in one direction
I've never known her or seen her to be
the mystery behind her. The black long hair
silky, and her surliness stands aloof.
Her long legs could spy any secret of mine
or James Bond.
I am black.
My hair is nappy, and my toes are long.
I am black.
I love fried chicken, and rap music.
I am black.
Put the food down,
Girls look better thin.
Don't frown,
Smiles always win.
Don't cry,
People will think you're insane.
Look away from football,
Let boys enjoy their game.
She called herself the Art Whore.
For she saw art in everything and
anywhere.
The crack in the wall that had been
there since her father had slammed
her head against the wall was art and
remember when you were a little girl
remember when you were wonderwoman
no remember when you were spiderman
Your bruises are obvious. I wish you would cover them. I know you are only showing me my mistakes, hoping I will right my wrongs. But, my darling, you have forgotten that I am the dark monster under your bed.
Lips red as blood and skin white as snow
With hair as black as the solid night sky
Just as hers does, I want my skin to glow
For hair dark as hers, I need bleach and dye.
It doesn't peel away, but I can take it off
It makes me feel beautiful
But I can wipe it with a cloth.
Compliments from boys all day
Somehow boosts my confidence, but
It's not me, It's my mask they see
Beautiful,
A word hard to say.
A word most Women don't describe them selves as
because they listen to what others have to say.
Beautiful
That's what you are;
" I am a women of Power"
with strength and matter,
all girls matter,
i am strong and made of steel,
i can make all things come real,
with a heart of gold my heart is my soul,
I am a women,
I tried to hold on sorry I let go, lost my grip hand slipped then I lost all control
Anger embarrassed me and it got the best of me
Anything you can do, I can do betterI'm sick of you telling me I'm dumb WorthlessNothing.
I'm sick of you telling me I'm a nagUseless.
When did the idea of being a woman become filled with dread?
Desperate women, driven to the knife,
Just like in the stories I have read.
I’m a femme fatalemy father taught me wellLike Mata Hari my charms arefor my victims to dispelLike the mistress Laura Bellthe Queen of London Whoredomone day I may find the Lord but
She called at four am.
Sobbing into the phone, we were both barely past ten.
He had touched her with his sweaty hands,
and looked at her with his lustful eyes.
He had ripped her out of bed,
I often wonder/When soft fingers grace the faucet,/That graces the bucket,/Whose metal contours grace the floor/Who decided/That sore knees,/Coupled with aching arms/Tripled with hunched, apron wrapped back,/Wasn’t enough./Who concluded that/Sweat
In Yellow and Stripes of Black
They did fight for freedom, did they
They were considered to be Dirty
They were killed,
Brothers, Sisters
My Brothers, Sisters
They were,
I’m a filmmaker
My mind is a bullpen seething with mischief.
I know I can adventure into places unknown with my camera.
Which is why
"Who Am I?"
A Question I now ask myself daily.
Am I the girl who smiles at random strangers?
Am I the girl who hands the homeless a sandwich?
Or am I the girl who is lost?
I am the girl you were warned about.
The girl built from fire and stone―
The girl who swallows the stars and extinguishes the sun―
Waking up to you is like discovering a foreign place.
I trace every birthmark on your skin to find your face.
I was a vast land, long forgotten and claimed my none.
Curious eyes reached beyond the horizon, it had begun.
I am immortal.
I have hips and thighs
I am a carrier of a generation, I have been sunkissed my God himself.
I am told that because i have breast and hips that bear a child, i am nothing
I am a strong minded Hispanic women is something that is not only wrong but unusual to hear.
Facebook
Request
Like
Message
Hey
Flirt
Date
Butterflies
Flirt
Date
Calls
Kisses
Deep conversations
When the world comes crashing down
Out comes your knight in shining nightgown
Yet he doesn't know how
To save his own damsel's crown.
The king must declare war
Men young and old must serve
I am 4 years old
all pink dress, all blond hair, all blue eyes
when strangers ask my name
i tell them, that i am princess peach
You tell yourself
ou arent good enough for a love like that
But you deserve it
You deserve spending the rest of your life
with someone that loves the same music
that loves the rain just as much as you
Words, so many words but
They can never express
fully the feelings
that swell inside
threatening to spill out onto
the sidewalk
who's cement tries to be
strong but
Words, so many words but
They can never express
fully the feelings
that swell inside
threatening to spill out onto
the sidewalk
who's cement tries to be
strong but
Ladies?
Are we worthy of the title?
Such beautiful masterpieces
Being scammed out of our worth by theives
Who expect me to believe
That my ass makes me relevant
And my intelligence makes me a prude
Here is to the women who hurt.
How their pain never told
though their stories ever sold,
intuitively resistant and bold.
Who am I?
Am I another cover of a magazine?
Am I an enlarged and edited pristine figurine
Waiting to be picked up off a shelf?
Will I reduce myself to being fueled by the greedy views of bigtime CEOs
I am a woman with a vision.
A vison so clear that I will break through all barriers to reach.
I am a student.
Despite all prejudements, I have made it to Howard University.
I am a daughter.
As I grew up
I always knew
The subtle power of having two
Differing chromosomes that is
When the man I loved tried to commit suicide, I can only describe my pain as having my heart ripped through my chest with hands of barbed wire, broken-glass dreams and smoldering promises.
Women are a lesser cut of meat,
cut and chopped on a slab for a man’s pleasure.
Women are a distraction,
and a skirt above the knee keeps a man from his work.
Women are crazy,
Women are like gnats.
They only come in packs.
Some nights they don’t show up,
Some nights they just attack.
What’s worst about them, though,
Is that when they’re finally done,
There’s something glorious about being a woman
Like the feel of Saturday mornings when you don’t have to go anywhere
And the sky is painted with lilacs and periwinkle and you wonder
“Why do I ever go to Sunday school
Oh, grandmother
With your white-white hair
and your pale skin you protected from the sun
Did you have any regrets?
Were you thankful
for the gift you were given?
The gift to pass as white?
Sometimes I wonder
How could I make a kite fly
Even when weighed down by a boulder
How could I make these diseased things happy
They want money and my everlasting plea to be their servant
at age 13:
girls were Sluts; Bitches, Whores, or Prudes,
and we thought that the length of jean aeropostle shorts
were fuses that would lead to some dangerous explosion of promiscuity because:
met you in the fourth grade
back when we were just ten
spent half my life with you
every step since
And then he touched me
He said it was ok, we were a trust, trust me and then he touched me again
And it doesn't go a way
Because he touched me
I'm a defect a goner
I was pricked with disease
Just one,
I'm a few,
No family too,
Who am I?
I don't know
I am a single mom
I am a married mom
I am also a Scientist
That will find a cure
I am also a cop
When the stick in your hand reads "postitive" there is an expectation from the world around you
Except instead of instantly feeling maternal joy, you feel the pang of a loss.
She's the most beautiful thing you could ever see. From her long black hair to her beautiful smile and don't get me started on her body.
I AM BLACK.
Blacks fought for freedom.
I AM WOMAN.
Women fought to be counted.
I AM GAY.
Gays fought for equality.
So why am I still fighting for freedom?
My freedom is confined
She said she'll think of whitty jokes
just to show that it's not all smoke.
She said she'll think of interesting facts
but the fact is that the pact was supposed to be
that she would go on a date with me.
My thoughts are not limited to my own mind.
They are exponential
exceeding the parameters of a tangent.
But I want them to be organised
which is why I focus on brain management.
My own mind wants to unwind
When I look in the mirror I don’t see the same little girl that ran around my mother’s busy office
Woman- what does it mean?
Tall, fat, skinny, short;
why not smart, compassionate, or witty?
I know I know, boys will be boys,
they will think and speak crude talk,
but can't they be taught that We are more?
As a young woman it seems my body serves threat to my soul.
My body making up me; unqiue.
Curved and straight and flat and wide and thin and all, is my own.
Opportunities aren’t abound for women like me
My face has been stepped on
My history utterly destroyed
They haven’t fared well
If one can imagine them left in my position at birthIf our lives were switched
When will some one find and keep me? They all see a piece of me and not the full me. I'm either intelligent, pretty, funny, or anything else that people see on the outside.
Who am I?
My birth name is Shelby.
But that's changed over the years; shrimp, chipmunk, penguin, shorty.
School was rough. Not always fitting in.
Graduation set me free.
Now - I am me.
I'm not as skinny as I'm supposed to be
and don't have flawlwss skin.
My laugh is a little obnoxious,
but hey this is me.
I don't cake my face with makeup
to live up to the "beauty standard"
As a woman
I can act like a lady
I can dress like a lady
I can expand my vocabulary so that
I sound like a lady
I can walk with the right amount of sway
Like a lady
With just enough tease
"Feminism" is taking over, and wow, they have a point.
Men can do what women do and women do as men.
But is it really feminism...
When we tell a girl that she ought to wear pants
Hate is a good thing,
When it comes to bad things,
But hate is for the next generation.
When they look up to rap kings
Who promote bad things, gold bling, and diamond rings.
Every second of every day
The world is telling women how to behave
Wear your hair like this, your makeup on point
And if you're over 110 pounds
Get your ass to the gym
Sick of division, powered by ambition
Brushed into a corner from their social superstition
What's your favorite color, boy?
White girls are who he enjoys
Therefore I'm not worthy of his attention
I AM THAT GIRL
Just like my girl Rosie.
Don't mind me if I get a bit noisy,
Cause I'm standing up for all the girls,
All the girls around the world.
I AM THAT GIRL
It's a positive thing.
strong independent women
beaten and broken
misunderstood emotions
turned to violence
women
battered
hopes and dreams shattered
by the hand of their love
strong independent women
I look to the stars above:
I see the galaxies, swirling
In a brilliant array of light-
Now I look at me.
I see two eyes
Colored with the heavens' imagination.
I see freckles,
The life of a young woman is boundless and untamed
There is no way of telling where she will go next or who she will become
The crazy twirl that destincts
Who she is
The girl I was years ago is gone
I am a new beginning
A jump across a puddle and two hops to the left
Press start.
Look up. The dreams no longer satisfy who I am
I am a force
Not a physical matter to measure
I see her staring at me
Both picking out each others flaws
wondering how it could be
Thinking about society laws on beauty
wishing I could withdraw.
I stare at her picking out every beauty mark;
f(x)=a(ng+el)*r[e(y-e)^s]
I am a complex math function
that you cannot understand.
So, what do you do first?
Step 1: Factor completely.
Extract my primes and variables,
“You walk funny.”
These words have plagued my school experience.
No one knows the reason behind this walk,
They don’t know that my muscles don’t work and I’m slower than the rest
Oh! There it is,The blood of my Mothers’SinsBlossoming onMy white sheetsLike a bouquet of English roses.A shame -Laundry day hadBeen yesterday. My thighs have been painted
I'm sure most of us are familiar with the term 'Ladies First'. Eve took some and ate, ladies first huh?
Don't look that way
Don't say those things
There's another pretty woman
Look away from the screens
They are supposed to define you
Women are equal as men. Although it takes two to make a baby, babies would not be in this world without women. I do believe the creation of life is a 50-50 job between a man and a woman, but within the job, the roles are split up.
i heard a child scream once,
only once,
and it was the sound of Algebra,
the Cold War,
global warming,
but also a mango seed
scraping wood to etch grammar rules.
Without a flaw
Perfect skin
Perfect body
Perfect hair
It's a
girl.
We have impossible standards
For each other and ourselves.
It's not fair
She sits alone,
crouched in the darkness,
holding up her knees
with thin, spindly arms.
Dried tears have created a track
on her dirt streaked face.
Her blue eyes have lost their charm.
I am flawless because I have flaws,
I am flawless because I work hard.
I am flawless because I have weaknesses,
I am flawless because I don't discard.
I hold onto my emotions, my appearance,
Flawless is waking up at 5:45 in the morning feeling like everything that the world says matters is irrelevant at that moment and I
If you do not feel anything
When your fingers touch a keyboard
You are not a poet
If there is not the slightest rhythm
From the syllables stampeding
In a Socratic circle
My mother named me Dorothy
Not after a girl in blue gingham
Not after Jerry Maguire’s crush
I was named after her Grandmother
The Strongest woman she ever knew
A woman with a pilot’s license
Am I enough? To be considered beautiful, naturally. Naturally with acceptable flaws. Being 17 in a media-controlled world can either go left or right. Am I enough? To make mistakes and be forgiven. Still be human.
The day I asked myself am I really this person inside,
Am I covering up the truth? Is there anything to hide.
Blinded by other people's expectations, focused on unexpect fear.
I've heard it said- is it true?
The heart of men is wicked.
But does that just include men?
Are women wicked?
Children?
Men are deceitful.
Are women not?
Children?
God Bless America.
Where suburban neighborhoods flourish
and every house looks like the other,
like rows of mass-produced Fords.
God bless America.
Where the government spends money
I see women.
I see thunder thighs
and freckles,
muffin tops,
rib cages,
a birth mark that covers the length of her collar bone
NO she said
does no mean yes?
we know you know better than that
you did what you did because you wanted to
it wasn't her fault
you can't blame the way she dressed
the way she talked
Let me straddle your mind
Let me lay on top of your thoughts
Rubbing & caressing each care away
Interrupting them with each touch & feel
I can open you up, to love, lifting you up
Giving you a high
It's coming around the corner,
The corner on 13th street.
Shuffling and scuffling along
on its heavy and weakened feet.
It's coming down the sidewalk,
twitching and swaying in the night.
Senior year turned cold one day.
I fell on the ground and didn't have anything to say
I held on my stomach and cried a little or more than that
a nurse brought a wheelchair over on which i sat
This is my body.
I do what I want.
This is my body,
Not your’s.
This is my blood.
It will shed
Only
Every month
Of my life.
This is my body, too.
We dress up and make-up to impress on a daily basis
With mascara and tear stains on our faces we still smile
Because we know we are the strength that keeps you warm
We’ve been through it all, the rise and the falls….
We all want to be happy. Fall in love, get married.
We all want that fairy tale ending.
We fail to see the evil in the poeple we say we love. Because we don't know what love is. Or the damage it does.
It has been an era since I have gazed
Into the mirrored eyes of morning.
The thought lingers in an ocean
Of fruitless expectation.
The yearning, thirsting shore
Waits untouched by equipoised waves
The flowing waters of Eros
Traversed the infinite space
Where cold and stoic I lingered
Far from warmth’s embrace
Slowly, thus intrigued,
Approached the seeming cause
Of my dismantling
When you tell a girl she’s pretty
she’ll paint a smile on her face
so she won’t look in the mirror
and see her life was a waste
When you tell a girl she’s pretty
on compliments she’ll feed
Carefully, she wraps herself in her very own, invisible cloak, one just like how Harry Potter had except not quite
For only the innermost layer of her being is hidden, the one she’d only show when she was at home
Define rape –
A four letter word meaning
She was asking for it
Her skirt was too short
And, well, she didn’t say no.
Define catcall –
A seven letter, slang term describing how men
The truth is I don't know who she isDisguised so goodI blew thisWith the lipstick on high heels strongBut my ankles not so muchI'm just trying to show that ICan play the roleJust like all my friends
Crystalize the memory & synchronize your chemical scheme, as the city underground travels through the blood stream
..of the young, the rich the old and poor..and the faces of the familiar across the crooked corridoors.
There once was a rose
Attactive and sweet
She reached to pluck the fragrant bud
Only to be pricked with it's thorns
Everybody has responsibilities to uphold...
The question is though
Do you uphold them to the fullest?
Women!
Babies are having babies and they give the responsibility to their moms
I guess I'm confused how the term woman translated into bitch,
or why I have to constantly reiterate that we're woman not hoes to every dude I'm with. You must've lost your mind when you lost your respect
The cheating hurt, but besides that so did the lies and the punches.
Im glad its over, I took a stand and I left.
Im glad you know that you hurt me.
My tears weren't just the sadness you gave me.
I can't find a method to this madness
connecting stray dots
and calling them poetic thoughts
numb bodies with
teeming eyes
We don't deserve this demise!
Where is the paradise?
Walking home from the
grocery store with
two heavy bags, one in each
arm to balance the weight.
A man
blocking the sidewalk
whisky on his breath and blurry eyes
“What have you got there?”
I am beyond forgettingForgetting about loveLossOr any other emotion or feeling.I am beyond forgettingForgetting who I amTrulyOr who I was.I am beyond forgetting
The voice that creeps from my pencil, that leaps from my keyboard, that spills from my pen
Is the voice that struggles a fight from within
Fighting to be heard. Fighting to be heard.
Born to a home I don't belong,
Where nothing is right and everything's wrong.
An alcoholic mistake is what I am;
One Summer Hummer too many,
I was not part of the plan.
It’s commonly believed
That men are stronger
Than women.
They can build houses
And fix bikes
And change oil
But I’ve never seen
A man
Carry two toddlers
And an infant
This is for the women with the broken bones
With the shattered heart and tattered clothes
This is for the women with silent voices
Who made tough choices that were seen as pointless
People say you can’t be a lawyer because you’re a woman
Says who?
The Hobby Lobby
Taking away our good medicine for the obstruction of religious freedom
And people dying of AIDS, they didn’t know
a young woman usually finds herself bombarded by coments and misconceptions that
a woman cannot be beautiful and still be an intelectual
What makes me tick
are these sick, unrealistic expectations
of women.
“It’s what’s inside that counts.”
Well, how the fuck am I supposed to believe that
when my worth is determined by my appearance?
attention, affection,
hugs so tight!
He's invincible-
brighter than the stars at night.
a doctor, an astronaut,
Singer in a band,
books in his mind
are a future in his hand
We are not Women. We Are not Ladies. If the only thing that makes up adults is our age, then we are adults. But we are not Grown Up. We are Girls. And we wont be made Women by Physical Coming of Age.
Love means...?
I love him till that last star stops shining
Bet you, he don't love you like that.
Mac, your best friend
It hides your scars everyday
Your girls tell you,
There was red in my bed in years of yore
something I'd never considered before.
Lost in time, back and back,
a rarity in a rugged sack.
There was red in my bed, she had no clue.
A piece of meat cornered by beasts, lured into the trap, and now you're their feast.
They don't kill you, but eat you alive. They like it better when you fight.
My eyes do not “light up like the sunlight upon water,”
My complexion is too blue and white and every girl is hotter,
Society does not reward small chests like mine with glamour,
I was once told that if you love someone that you must set it free,
Especially if you are being affected because self assertiveness is the key,
It is only important that you love yourself enough to let go,
Standing on our two feet
Living without regret or defeat.
We are what Rory the roman
will wait a thousand years for a woman.
We are those who will rise to greatness,
Normal
It was being nice and standardizing yourself to fit in
But there she sat in her worn out old navy boot legged jeans
With her eyes on the board and some ink machine in her hand
You smelled of stale beer and musty basements,And soon that smell became the only one I knew.You drank until you couldn't remember your own name,And screamed mine until your voice resonated off the walls.
Here's a message to every girl across the world. Know that you are not a tool. Stop allowing men to deprive your soul with the pleasure of lust.
Well I live down on the beach,next to the green Florida Sea.I like to dig my toes in the sand,sipping some sweet ice tea.
My red lips can rock your world,I’ll have you down on your knees.
Why can a man walk free
down the street, without a care
in the world, and a pep
in his feet? But a woman must
leer, must live in a constant fear
that a man's touch or sneer
Listen,
I tell the tale
Of my pain
Of their pain
Do you hear them?
The collective despair
Shared by every woman who is forced
To witness their culture stripped
Only to be sold
I hope you receive whatever it is you desire. Whether it be a King or a Queen, anything that reflects you, will do.
let go baby girl
souls heal, be brave
turn that page,
new chaper
you can on do better
pick yor slf up
tears slid without a trace
disapear no more
Forget Me Not
*controversial*
Morning sickness brings the blues,
Monthly cycle is overdue.
She was drunk that night,
Flinging morals in the wind,
She feels them staring at her.
The energy it gives off
Makes her want to jump out of her skin.
you are a little late coming
this time
I've been waiting for you to show
I've prepared your white bed
and planned the places we can't go
can you not squeeze me so tight?
In a pride of lions, the lioness hunts while the male stays back
In many species of birds the male's bright feathers elaborate dances and song are desperate attempts to attract female birds
Monday through Friday, 8-5
"Young Lady," I hear
"Shh, while they talk"
Is my input not important?
"Young Lady," I hear
"Listen to the men speak."
Can I not speak as well?
300 years of slavery,
300 years in chains,
One hundred years of bravery,
This finally led to change.
Fifty years later followed Obama’s campaign,
Somehow we are still scared from all the previous pain,
Being gay isn't a choice
Because why would I choose to lose my voice?
Not my voice physically, but politically
The bringer of life, god, all give respect.
A cave of birth, a cave of delight, a cave of all.
Vaginas are normal, part of everyday. Everything comes from them,
It started out ok,
It started out good.
It started out the way it was supposed to,
It started out the way it should.
But I dont really know what happened,
Something had went wrong.
Her EYES
Blue as the ocean
Peaceful as the morning breeze
And when a secret is amidst. They close slightly in curiosity, peering through my scalp, demanding to know what’s on my mind
I can do a push-up.Not the modified, girl kind;The "boy" ones, with my feet and all.But this is not a poem about me.
When I was younger, my mother’s name for me was Doll.
Her hair was golden thread, her eyes were glass.
She would dress me and undress me, and hold my pink hands and sing,
“How perfect you are,
The sunshine gleams in your eyes
As the sea moves within your body
You bend the earth
And breathe the air
You’re something new in the world
A spark from a shooting star
Gaia turned around: walked
The long way up shore.
She cast away stars
With the milky haze
Of her own skin.
She has grown tired
Of division and multiplication
Growth of diameter, these
Here I stand, in my apartment, where you broke me, you took the old me, and molded me into something new.
someone I hardly recognize,
who is that girl in the mirror?
Why
Is it that everything
I did upset you?
Am
I just not as perfect as
you wanted me to be?
I
listened to every word you said,
Women have been pushed to believe
That skinny is the new black
And that gentlemen prefer blondes
And gentlemen prefer blush
And redheads
And eye shadow
And nice clothing
So change your hair
I came to my father and said, "Father, I have straight A's."
Ignoring me as he turned to my brother.
"Son, don't ditch school or get F's. You're the one that carries the family's name."
Put down your pencil,
And pay attention to your class,
Not everyone is like you,
They’re all just trying to pass,
You make think that they care,
But they’re all laughing in their reclining chair,
I need feminism, because I can't leave my legs unshaven without being told it's wrong.
I need feminism, because if a man shaves his legs he's told he's "feminine", "girly", and "gay"
As each girl takes her first inhalation,
She becomes a host to the cycle of corruption.
And it starts as society's thoughts creep into her ears,
Why should I have to prove myself?
Must it be the silk of my skin that defines me
Must it be the way that my locks tumble down the curves of my hips
And all our lives we are measured by our grades
The black girl.
Built strong, legs long unlike her hair.
Hair thick like her hips. Full lips.
Left on this earth for a purpose but constantly forced by society to find it alone.
Female,
Is not synonymous,
With quiet.
I came into this world kicking and screaming,
and I don't plan on stopping,
anytime soon.
Because female,
Rap is My Boyfriend
I’ve gotten into a relationship with the wrong type of guy
Because when I was dating R&B or pop, my self-esteem was so high
R&B’s words were so soft and sentimental
I used to think I loved you
I used to think you cared
I used to think "this is it"
I used to be so scared
I used to want to be your all
I used to think you did too
The color pink is a presuppositionthat was forced upon usfrom birth.We were not given a choice.
I used to grow up thinking daddy's wide shoulders were the highest point of Earth.
questioning my worth as i stand here vertically challenged
Because it is vulnerable, an option, you might see.
Wide out in the open, entire visibility.
Kindness, is it only but a word?
A person who hears people's needs.
But oddly, sadly, is never ever heard.
You try your best to see the light.
In a blinding sheet of darkness.
You ignore and try to forget.
It will hurt like a tattoo guns sting
as the ink infiltrates your skin.
Hannah was late coming home this evening.
Traffic was slow and she had trouble leaving.
Work was hard and she hadn't any time
A Queen
Birth from Sin
Placed in a world ran by men.
She can made up of various colors.
A women
Is a mans strength, his rock, his joy.
A beautiful flower that has its own structure and design.
What to do with all the hurt?
When inside you're fit to burst.
You're supposed to be so strong.
You're supposed to not be wrong.
Put a face that betrays the truth.
Give an air of being aloof.
My dreams have become a reality.
A reality I don't wish to feel.
Because these dreams once of pleasure,
Have become nightmares all too real.
She exploits her body to the opposite sex
Or the same sex
It doesn't matter right
As long as she gets her pay check
Because at the end of the night
Her pockets are full
$500 in tips
now is the time
they say
that women
have more liberties
more chances
more power
more more more
but the attitude remains the same
we are still second-class citizens
What I Hate
Do you know what I absolutely hate?
What makes me so sick to my stomach?
And my skin crawl with repulsion?
I’ll tell you what I hate:
I down another bottle
To wash the pain away.
For a brief moment,
I feel a bit okay.
Listen, sister, for this talk unsettles me. Stop here. Because
You are not the sum of things you have made.
You are not the sum of others' judgements, opinions - no.
They told me it was a bad decision.
I told them I saw good.
They told me he'd be a bad influence.
I told them it'd be the other way around.
They told me he wouldn't treat me right.
I told them he'd changed.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Yes, I still care
But, what’s it to you?
You showed no respect,
No emotion at all.
So why did I stay
When you put up a wall?
The pretty girl who everyone wants
they admire you for your smarts
respect all your wishes
all the boys wanted to call you theirs
and one day, a boy was able to
you thought you loved him
It's just really frustrating:how it only takes one person to ruina safe space; feeling obligatedto play into the "nice guy's" hands; how you
The faceless faces now hold detail.
The wounded women now show sealed scars.
The chasteless children now innocent.
The hollow home now stands solid.
She was supposed to be a boy.
Over there, she might not have lived to see another day.
Here, she was loved.
I am loved. I can follow my dreams.
But they called me bossy.
Loud.
Pushy.
Life is a pair of black corsets, fishnet stockings and cheap lipstick,
suffering from the intoxicating riches of each breath.
and in the midst of it all is a shadowed wrong turn,
in which my legs keep gliding through air.
I am a woman
I have long hair, I have a high voice, long lashes and lips of cherry
I have curves, I have breasts and a butt
And I love my body and I am proud
You tell me,
And you tell her too.
I bet you say that to everyone.
You don’t know her
But she still hears you.
I hear her crying.
You exist everywhere,
I am a Nappy headed woman, I love my naps...I love my curls...I love my dreads.. I refuse to let anyone put chemicals in my head...
I cause concern
Make heads turn
While all my heart can do is yearn
For you to understand
That this was God’s command
Not some man’s demand
And that
This life in the hood
Is a choice
she wanted to look sexy,so she put on a cherry red mini skirt,with flesh-colored pantyhose,a black halter top with tiny sparkles on it.the shoes she chose were ruby and high-heeled.
close your eyes
let the white walls drown you
surround you with the inevitable
letting you fight the current
"Your ears are the ocean,"
my friend said,
and I imagined the wash of waves
erasing the auditory footsteps
hanging like fading dreams
in the clear morning light of the seashore.
If I were to change something big or small
Would it be my height?
Sometimes I were I were small
But this would only please myself temporarily
No, have confidence. I AM TALL
Lights, Camera, Action
Light, How do you see it?
Can you even see it?
Or is it felt on the fine arms that brush up when air is left of mist.
Look at her, look at me;
its gold, versus silver,
the sun against the moon.
Where she shines, I am dim;
saught after, and alone,
the Beauty and the Beast.
If I could change the world
I would change
the wage gap
the catcalls
the disrespect
the dismissal
the phrase "Don't be such a girl"
If I could change the world
Sinful Rose, Sinful Rose,
Let free your thorns that want to bite,
I am that rose, Sinful Rose,
My hair
My eyes
My height
All things I could change
But what I would change is something much more
It not about myself, its about the world
Rather than helping one sole, It would help much more
Stupid girl
She was called
You think you can contribute?
You’re so tiny in this world
You may as well be mute
You’ll never get a word in
The Big Men are talking
I'm tired of walking down the streets
With girls gripping my arms in fear
Fear of catcalls
Fear of men
Fear of bigots
and most of all: Fear of people without respect
I'm tired of hearing
A young woman, eighteen and fair,
With big brown eyes and long brown hair,
Made her way past the lamppost that stood,
In the middle of her neighbourhood.
Growing up, I had my pick fromThe Big Four of respectable careers for AsiansBusiness, Law, Engineering, and MedicineI chose to be a doctorBut I realized I disliked scienceSo I changed my mind
I would change
If I could change
women’s volleyball shorts.
their function is fine,
They fit the way they were designed to
I am able to dive,
hit
pass
and spike
in them.
Imagine a world of no conflictNo anger, no murder, no war
A world of respect
Where the color of your skin doesn’t matterWhere which side of the tracks you grew upon makes no change
"OMG you too Ms. Imani?You see I... I thought I was the only"Thats what this young girl said to meas she glared at meno longer feeling lonely.
I don't care for men, women neither
Men walk around as if their genetials have swine flu fever
but then women are the beaver
The Few.
This way of life is not for everyone;
Most think we're crazy, which might be true.
There's no black, white, or brown, just green.
Serving my Country with pride,
Along side my Corps family.
I’m crying.
Right now I’m crying.
The salty sorrows slowly sinking
Caused because of too much thinking
Ten-fold more as I start blinking
Crying sadly so.
I’m screaming.
After my study
i met this hottie in a
baby blue hoodie-
That said fear the D
but she said she likes me
casue I go to UIC
And still working on my degree
I date catholic school girls
I’m just a girl
My mind is figuratively empty
Filled with the simplicity of the mundane
My contributions to culture are like puffs of glitter
They are common though admirable and short lived
Unequal pay,
Long hours durring the day,
Sexual harassment in the office,
Why do we deserve to be treated this way?
She doesn't work as hard as the others her they say,
My hair, the color of straw
Compared to others it seems very blah
I am not who they think I need to want to be
But do I need to care what they think I should think that I need
My body is curved and round
The difference is a letter
Or a chromosome, really
It’s a variable, it’s chance
By biology, a 50/50 split
XX = XY
It’s not biology
It’s society
I am a female; I am told I am lesser
I stand behind a glass case.I am an object to behold.For my submissive nature and gentler tones.
I tend to children, I tend to the injured.I remain hidden behind a man.For my lesser gender, and simple mind.
Being Darkskin In This World Today
Is Harder Than Any Other Pain That Comes Your Way
You Would Think After Segregation Was Over
The Color Of Your Skin Wouldn't Matter
LIESSS
Every morning,
A girl somewhere wakes up, rubs her big brown eyes and walks to her mirror
She looks at herself and sees a shell of a person
Whatever she feels on the inside is what she sees on the outside
“I’m fat”
The universe bleeds racism of humanity and sexuality.
But for some reason it does not bother me.
It is what it is.
When I feel their stares,
I know that I am beautiful.
When they compliment me,
I know that I am beautiful.
If he ignores me, how am I to know
That I am beautiful
If you love me,
I was born with this bodybreasts, cunt, curves and a certainsoftnessthat means I can't be the
action herothe saviorthe martyr
My mother of Resolution
A mother of hope
A listener of wisdom
My detective of crime
Understanding of all imperfections
Loving, caring, compassionate
In the mirror, I look up and stare at my reflection,
Oh, man, I saw this coming. What a recollection.
My makeup all smudged, all damp and out of line,
Huh, it matched the line I tried to draw when you were mine.
When will I be able to wear shorts to school
Without being harassed, touched, and stared at?
When will I be able to walk at night
Across the street, across town
Without being scared of every shadow?
Sweeping dust in the factory
coughing out pollution casually
making shoes for kids in the west
each hour getting paid ten cents
there is a woman in somalia
each day she faces insomnia
Potential is what I see
when I look in in the mirror staring at me.
Thousands of ways to help the world...
But will I be so ever bold?
To work one of my destined careers,
That helps both of Earth's hemispheres?
When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man
When a woman givers her opinion, she’s a bitch.
It’s hard out here for a bitch
In a place where for every man’s dollar women make 78 cents
Words cannot contain how much pain that she feels.She lost her five children to waves of steel. How can she go on and keep on living without her beloved by he
The light shines thorugh the only window
inside of her eerie cocoon,
symablaizing the fantasy
that she can only dare to dream about.
Downstairs, you sit there on your throne
if the boy you love consistently asks for sex but refuses to treat you like the goddess you are, leave him
Woman
One of two or one of many
Depending on your views
Woman
Not worthy of wealth
Except wealth of home
To the man she calls
To the man she owes
Woman
A world dominated by people who have erased vulnerabilityFrom their thoughts, seems to be falling apart.We train ourselves to be stern and collectedTo not show emotions, because emotions are our downfall.
Bold Dark presenceWreaks its havocAmongst the people,Poison’d human Morality,Degraded by Brutality,Guarded from Equality,Caged by harmful Mentality.
If everyone read National Geographic
There would not be as many things to report about
in National Geographic
If young girls were surrounded by images of beauty and strength
Theres more to a woman than her shape
Theres more to a woman then her sex appeal
Theres more to a woman than her body
Theres more to a woman
Her smile, as bright as the sun could shine
We eye the people that walk at one in the morning
In askance: Are they safe?
We walk on different sides of the road, our skin crawling with fear
I do not trust most men
Their faces, eyes seem cruel and evil
Alexander K Opicho(Eldoret, Kenya;aopicho@yahoo.com)Daughters,sisters and brethren in the African womenfolk
What if.
What if I'm not just the tight kink of a curl.
What if I'm not just soft brown blends that make the hue of my skin.
Every morning she wake up
wash her face
paint on her socially acceptable face and pretends
stragley hair that won't straigten
freckles that makeup can't cover up
chapped lips
"oops I broke a nail"
uneven toes
too small of eyes
stubby fingers
"I'm not skinny enough"
Silence.
It surrounded me like a thick blanket,
a false illusion of security as I walked
across Fulton and through the market.
My flats tapped the ground, giving off no sound,
We spend billions of dollars to protect our country, but what's the point if behind the walls is a land that's crumbling?
In the middle of the market
The bones lined up in rows
They used to be so pretty
Where did the beauty go?
Come here lovely darling
Be a part of the lovely show
Every day voices circle all around me
Telling me what I should or shouldn’t be
Why don’t you play with girls’ toys?
Why do you spend so much time with boys?
You should go shopping more with fellow females
The sea meets the sand
Where there is but one strand
The light of the suns effervescent
On the lands where we were well met
I saw you and I loved you then
Beneath the green leaves of a palm
Raped, beaten, yelled at, threatened
I still keep my head up high
Ditched, cursed, bullied, shunned
I still say good morning every time you walk by
I am a strong woman
Is this really love
This nagging in the back of my head
It screams out at me like a vulcher
Watching the already presumed dead
This breathlessness in the middle of the night
All those books had me so mislead
To my future daughter
You will know that you are a queen from the moment you are concieved till you rest your head against the silk linen of your eternal crib
In my house, a woman actually has a voice.
We have a goddamned choice, and we even have poise.
Not one man present to cause any noise.
No testosterone, no sign of any boys.
I am a woman.
Catcalls are not a compliment.
Not in a world that blames vulnerability instead of those who take advantage of it.
I am intelligent.
But it doesn’t matter because my body is worth more than my mind
This poem does contain footnotes on the bottom that may be used for clarification since there are many obscure references.
You think because you have placed your hand ever so lightly on my thigh
without a flinch
that you can touch me like that?
My eyes never begged for more
only my heart yearned to be felt...not my body
I love my job
it's the best job i've ever had
i get to dance
i get to make conversations with strangers
i even get to learn how some men react to voluptuous women
I cannot bear the History
The Submission, The Imprisonment
Intelligence wasted behind the fearful pomp
Confined in lowly places that don't suit us
Women, much stronger than believed
Radiant skin, face so smooth
Pride in her walk, swag in her groove
Who’s that lady?
That makes hearts flutter
Can’t speak her name
Without a stutter
Her brown sugar eyes
They have a surprise
Do not tell me to smile, I cannot.
He takes away my innocence, my hope.
His fingers on my skin feel like black rot.
They tell us that they cannot change, just cope.
I cannot be at the top of my class,
You make me ill,
With your kind words
And not so secret stares.
I feel your gaze on my body.
It touches my face, my arms, and my chest.
We both know you aren’t hunting for my heart.
I'm in love
She said
The first day she met Bryan
I'm in love
She believed
As she showed me
The dozens of roses
I'm in love
We kissed, I felt her lips connect as if we were one, and yet I wanted more. I could not resist her, her looks of pleasant torture, and warmest of the body. Long ago, her beauty vanished, and left there was nothing but hate.
He knocks me onto the floor
Tear drops and lightning break out
I cry out and run to the door
He kicks me and with a shout
Starting a new chapter every morning
of my life
I seek improvement, reverence and connectivity
MY LIFE!
I walk on thin ice made of doubt...
There is a slight connection between the fear
growing steadily along with my inner hope
And the obscure room filled up
She's in no condition to be marketing youth,
beautiful as she may be.
Age has caught up to this queen,
and it seeps through her
meticulously touched up image.
The elegance dripped from her body onto her toes, as if someone had taken and lifted her above and beyond my world.
Had draped beauty over her soft spoken words and slowly released all her pain until there was no more.
When I was a child, I wanted to be a dancer.
Twenty hours a week, ice packs and recitals.
Dreaming of a stage with a full house and applause
But what I was missing, was working towards a cause.
Forward.
My love ink spilled onto this page.
It smeared across this paper,
this medium of which I pour my rage.
My heart so full of love and lust,
has been stoned by my work of art,
One Strike
Two Strike
I feel the blood drip
I try to move but my body screams
I touch the blood
I sweat more and weep
This will be the last time I will
Feel your curse set upon me
I’m running,
I’m running fast away from him.
He’s getting closer,
He’s getting closer to me again.
There’s blood on my leg,
It leaks from my open flesh.
Here I lie unable to comprehend-
I tried to evacuate, yet you brought me right back
I made efforts to free myself from the unending grasp
To tackle, fight and defeat you, who tried to bring me down
I like shopping a lot! Jeans, khakis, shorts: booty or not, skirts: long or short. The tops! Shirts V-neck, T, crop top, one shoulder, strapless, just bra, no bra!
I'm scared no one will love me the way that you had. You always listened whole-heartedly and never thought the bad. I was able to be myself and open my hea
Because of history, I am seen as nothing more then a figure to be worn on the side of a man.
In this day and age,
She made love
With the wrong man—
Her father.
A love without consent;
A love filled with hate;
A love that brought new life.
He slaughtered the life—
I am black. I am a girl. People tell me all the time what i can and cannot do. They label me as ignorant, rude, ghetto and ratchet because of my color. I am weak, whiny and sensitive because of my gender. Who are you?
In a crowd you are bound to spot him
He is standing so very tall
Not too much impresses him
He has seen and done it all.
His hair is short, eyes are sharp, and not a smile is seen
My dialect is catastrophic. Viciously it consumes the minds of those who surround me. To catch only a whisper would reveal the sadistic sense of my nature. At least to some. Those who merge opinions with facts. Bellowing assessments of "this gen
Do you even realize how much you hurt me?
How much damage you have caused?
And you have the audacity to come back
After two whole years of torment
Do you see my tears?
No.
I am your toy. I am your "woman".
Do you hear my screams?
No.
I say "I love you" only because it means you will stop for a minute.
Do you feel my pain?
Yes.
The Hardness of her heart
the coldness of her hand, i wonder why she ignores me so much.
The sparkle in her eye is only when she crys, confort seems to not be enough.
I am more than what’s between my legs.
But you’ll never see that because you seem to live there.
Just like every other boy that has walked in and out my life.
Notice I said “boy"
A laugh
A scoff
"She's such a slut"
That girl right there
With the low-cut shirt, high heels, short skirt.
You don't know her,
You don't know her life,
But that doesn't matter.
How old are we when we become corrupt?Where along the way did we lose our innocence?Better yet, when did we stop looking for it?We curse, we hate, we live selfishly.We live in a world wherewomen are raped,
A fairy is real when a child is young,
A belief is what that idea is among,
Everyone believes in something,
Societal change is what beliefs can bring.
Religion is something one cannot escape,
The dark colored eyes that hides inside
holding the mold to every fiber that was once a destructive storm through the night.
How do we transverse, move, breathe, converse?
Demons hide within us all
Echoing in the back of our minds
Pulling against the chains and begging to be let free
Everyone has demons
Some are just louder than others
I met Mr.Gun on a lonely night
Sad and alone
I took him home
I told him my story and expected him to laugh
but he didn't to my surprise,
He just stared at me
He seemed to understand me
If there is a “man”,
Saying you are not beautiful,
He’s telling you lies,
His screwed up, twisted opinion of you doesn’t matter,
Sweet beautiful intelligent divine being
Created by 2 hearts with lost souls
Combined in one body
Care was taken to take and place your heart into it
A soul born by society
it can happen to anyone, by anyone
there is no excuse
the hurt, the aftermath, not fun
all because of abuse.
countless nights of crying
you feel like you want to die
but no more of that, start trying
In a room full of immature young men
She is touched.
She is uncomfortable
But does not know how to say no.
A touch on her leg,
A word in her ear
Sends tension crawling up her spine.
I am a real piece of work
And that much about me will never change
I’ll change the world with words
The same way you changed me
You made me a worrier
Excuse me
I am in this world deformed,Rendered useless by some,But unbeknownst to them, There's a world that will accept me.It comes through the TV screen,in the form of kingdoms, mazes, and caverns.I can take to the skies, swing a sword at those who questi
Did my clothes grow a voice box and speak for me?Because my own voice couldn’t be heard over your insecurityThe only word I needed was noWhen a child first learns the word no
Oh. Thick girls?
They are better than Big girls.
Big girls are like big.
Thick Girls are just better
Said everyone.
Big girl
Big girl
No loves you they said, lose weight they tell me
Can you hear me?
I'm here wanting someone to ask if I'm okay.
I wait and wait but no one can hear me.
No one notices the hurt I go through.
No one notices the pain and suffering.
She was perfect.
Bottled blonde.
With hardly any flaws.
Straight A's in every class.
Cheer leader on top of that.
Do you know why she's gone?
Some say she just up and left.
Brainwash the children of the nation
with songs by Drake
omg becky look at her butt
you only live once
dripping with misogyny
stupid sayings
strangle our minds into believing
Three times a marking period That's how often we can go But if you are married Then shouldn't you already know? You say it's too much, disruptive, distracting If we could stop it, we wouldn't be asking You've never experienced the anxiousness of
Remember that day you felt you could never compare
That feeling that life just couldn't be fair
Remember the tears that flooded your eyes
That feeling that life is a pile of lies
Angry, sad, confused, helpless scared
These are the emotions of a women
A women who has been hurt
A women that has been abused
A women who has been lied to
These are the challenges of a women
Given the opportunity to share my point of view...
I wish my professor can see that i am more than just a mere name on a sheet of paper
I am more than just another body in a desk
She was thinking about windows
The window in Mr. McClellan’s bedroom that Tom had shattered playing catch
With those older boys down the street.
The windows in her own house
That could use a good scrubbing.
I'm tired of these fucking stereotypes
dictating how I feel and act
I shouldn't like English
I should be petite and quiet
I should study, study, study
Well I fucking done
finito, over it
Silent everytime
no noise at all
Until one day it spoke
The voice was very soft
Calm and gentle
Then it got louder
Speaking of truth and facts
equality of women and power
why can't you see me?
why am i invisible to you?
am i nothing?
am i worthless?
what are you doing?
what do you think of me?
how are you?
how is this possible?
will you see me?
He's stripped her of her innocence,
His touch has darkened.
Her internal morals vanished,
Her souls' been broken.
She remains silent and carries on,
But her smile has wilted and gone.
It's wrong of me
To want to be equal.
It's wrong of me
To not feel like a woman.
Or a man.
It's wrong of me
To not be sexually attracted to anyone.
It's wrong of me
"I like a long-haired, thick red bone", he saysas he yanks her, drags her, and spreads her legs.Her mouth is sewn shut, but her body screams, "more!"because her man on the screen showers her in Gucci and Couture.
You, girl. Wee girl.
Oblivious to the world that surrounds you.
The vultures, the animals.
Creatures we call people.
They'll wine you, they'll dine you,
They'll rip you to shreds.
The sun awakes,
The baby cries,
All the world is passing by—
Men all polished and prime,
Keep the women with less than dimes—
Desks, telephones, and emails galore,
Why don’t the women deserve more?
Don't cry for me just yet.
I'm not dead. I'm not forgotten.
Although, you've neglected me.
I'm not oppressed, nor destitute.
Although, you've stole from me.
Death is but a moment away.
I’m prepared to awake,
and start to make,
my future something grand,
and make a stand,
I want to prove to myself I can do this,
I’m the only one who can make myself miss,
this opportunity in life,
Da Dom Da Dom Da Dom (heart beat)Before I knew of his mistake I’d already condemned himEven as he tried to explain I scolded him for action he never madeRazor held high I went in for the killHe’d never hurt another
Bags under her eyes, but ever alert
Sleep was a luxury she can't afford.
Always moving and never staying long
Trying to look to the future,
but the darkness of the past blocks her way.
A Letter to you my black women,
Do not let your curves define you.
Your thick lips, circular behind
curved hips, kinky hair
be your primary worth.
Realize you are not only your astounding exterior
How was your day was all I was asking.
I didn't ask for you to punch and slap me.
An eye for an eye
I know it isn't right but
I refuse to go down without a fight.
Time is a luxury I’ve never had
At six I was left with only a Dad
The clock is always ticking
Mom and dad were always bickering
The hands keep moving round and round
When you look at me, tell me what you see.
Do you see me, or are you simply focusing on vanity?
Shakespeare once said that all the world’s a stage,
If only he could see how he prophesized this world of today
Under my bedI layAfraidBecause tonight is just one of those nightsMama works late
I can hear you stumbleYour scent getting closerYou mumbleI should call mamaBut I'm just not suppose to
Tis the wakeing dawn, And i feel the sky is just beyond, My reach, For she is my heaven,This be a truth not spun from eden, For it was there in her arms i found my lordly beginning,And instead of always pining,
I can read,on her face-the daylight broughtonly misery and hate.
Not all rainy days,are meant for joy-tears are the rains toys.
We are Colored Girls and have not been able to lay in peace since he left us in pieces.
He left like he was a six year old boy who had become frustrated because he couldn’t find the missing puzzle piece.
Teach a girlNo doubt, she is diamond-beautifulInside and out,Because God created herWith a purpose.Break the curse,To crush deadThe tiny mocking voicesIn her head
God made the perfect creation when he made womenSo elegant, charming with their smiles
Why is it so goddamn hard to teach your son how to love a woman?To love her for the things inside her head,and not for what’s between her legs,and not for what she has hiding underneath her blouse.
No Makeup do you need
You’re Beautiful without
That make up.
That dot upon your face is what makes
You.
No makeup you need
Your beautiful without
The powder.
To me you’re a desire.
Nobody told me that it was okay to speak my mind
Not just the fluffy, fuzzy pieces of my mind
But the dark corners, the judgments, the truths that sting red against the skin
His fire burns, his fury builds.His screams of rage fill the air.I stand still.On the outside I look calm,but my eyes reveal terror.Appalling questions escape his lips.Horrendous accusations.
Dear World
Where you have to pay extra not to have chemicals in your food
Where not being the most obese country is an accomplishment
Where Nicki Minaj's butt has more hits than Mahatma Ghandi
He never hit me.
But sometimes it felt like it.
When you see someone punch a bed because of something you said
or smash a windshield because of a fight
you feel like you are to blame.
I deserve respect
You know you wouldnt talk to your mom like that
I am a girl
I am 15
I am black
And I am smart
With ambition
Nothing can beat that
So why wont you respect me?
She wants a poem I cannot write, one for which I have no sourse of inspiration or reason, drive or occassion. Yet I find myself letting the ink flow for something I have no idea why I’m doing.
I am not a slave to my looks therefore I am not a slave to my hair. Next time you say,
Girl!
You will never get a man with that hair.
When I was younger
I would sit in the back of the classroom without saying a single word
My teacher would always call on me
I think about you when you're not by my beside
You live miles away so that's almost all the time
Even worse we're going to college separate ways
Both hoping the relationship will never fade
Dear Jessica,
I hugged you as you left for the park.
You borrowed my shoes,
Your make-up was perfect.
You were meeting him,
The first of many times.
You asked me if you were crazy,
Worth by Paige Adkins
What determines a woman's worth?,
Is it the clothes she wears?,
The makeup that lines her face?,
Perhaps it is the swerve in her step,
And the way she gives men chase,
In the beginning of this love affair with poems
I learned I
was empowered
by the way words flowed from my pen.
I saw that
it was a unique talent that
not many got
and fewer choose to practice.
I thrive on intimacy
Soft touch
Now that it is gone
I feel empty
Worthless
Numb
Like there is nothing
Like I am nothing
I feel like the source that fed me has ran out and I am
If you hear the word “radium,” do you think of Marie Curie,
Of the thousands she saved by radiation therapy,
Of a woman who died for the love – in the name – of science,
1964. Kitty Genovese. 28.Raped and killed while her neighbors did nothing.Her blood left a scuffing.2009. Jane Doe. 15.Raped by ten guys at a homecoming dance while several class mates laughed and joked.
what do you think your looking at
as if i'm some unidentified object
staring at me as if i did wrong
through your eyes and..
who do you think your looking at
I am my own women
Lost is the lady bee in the apple tree
Drawn to the nature without a mother
Carrying only a bit of poison to protect herself
Looking for the soft petals of security
36- 24-36
The measurements of perfection
The ideal hourglass figure;
Big boobs, skinny waist, wide hips
She can taste the blood in the corner of her mouth
From when she was tripped during a struggle to the door
The iron taste to accompany the scarred ford
From when she “fell down the stairs” at the home of her “love”
To be a woman now
Is to be a woman with impressive prospects
Not more than half a century ago
We were trapped
Ensnared by the prejudice
And belief that we were for some reason less capable, inept.
Weak.
When one violin stands alone
If it can’t play a chord,
Then the string is plucked
Until it breaks
Snap
The first time, there was no fight,
not a wrong or a right.
It had stung just a bit,
no punch, just a little hit.
Not a drop of blood or a mark,
but rather a swoop in the dark.
I wanted to ask you to stop
The look you give me brings out my fear
For if I show any I will tear
For the path I creep upon will distress my womb
Until the end I will not be
Because thanks to you I vanished
The implications of your strength confuse
My emotions and leave me perplexéd;
Do I find safety in your able arms,
Or do I fear the strength sup’rior to mine?
The way you take control is my excuse
To be ownéd by you is my dark wish,
Sweet man who has power to bid me his will,
And protect me from those who’d demolish
My heart and send my world into a hell.
I do not care what the radicals say,
I am Woman
I have no power
and I no longer believe that
I can make a difference
It is true that
I am silenced
And no more
I achieve
Freedom
I am Woman
There are men more clever than I. Thousands of handsome faces to steal you away. Confident Trojans, brooding, drunk musicians whose songs envelope you in swift, obvious seduction. Bullshit poets. Tale as old as time.
The silence slothfully smothers any hesitancies
Gone is the opportunity to right the many discrepancies.
Stereotyped in a single, cursory glance,
The human being is a she and denied the chance
A woman should be treated
As she is a queen,
Kiss and tell her you love her.
Tell her you’re the pretties’ thing,
Comfort her when she’s in her weakest links,
Put your arms around her,
I want to be a barbie
I want to be a fresh out the box
Accessories not included
Anatomically in correct
Manufactured in the flesh
Rubber in the chest
Barbie
Mark me made by Mattel
As long as a need exists,
I will write;
The innocent must have voice,
I will fight.
For babies in the womb,
They must see light.
For a beaten woman,
They must not fear the night.
I think of a day when women had no rights
And of places where this still somehow occurs.
Not too long ago, women had no say at all.
And women fought, and fight.
Women are amazing.
Along a lost dream,
He grieves the loss of reality.
And feigns forgiveness to the dry bones
Of humanity. Society and it’s pillars
Hierarchy of wisdom and folly:
The child, the woman, the man.
I write for the women before me
Who had no rights to express their thoughts
Oppressed through the generations
Until someone took a stand
I'm tall, your short
which ones better?
big boobs? small ones?
or how about this
big ass, small bum
I just love mine
who cares,
because thats the way I am! The way I am!
what can I say
I need answers
I need prayers
I need sympathy
In this dying misery
I need affection
I need hope
I need this wind to tell me which way to go
So come with me now
"I like curly haired women."
"Black women are loud."
"Why aren't you open to new experiences?"
"You shouldn't wear weave."
I think I have just about had it with these young black men.
Who do you think you are?
As things get rough I find her head hangs low
Eyes bellowed beneath the clouds his hands on her chest as a chain on his ankles holds him tight
Her body is in a state of mind that nobody can feel
Tell me about the time you almost pinned youth to the ground
How she laughed in bell tones before she cried
Before she told you that her time was almost up
That was when you noticed the bruises, didn't you?
Women.
The evolution has changed drastically.
First there were role models, then there were icons
But now a red sole defines one as her majesty.
From the likes of Sojourner to Rosa
He will respect you
He will help you
He will acknowledge your thoughts
And never resent you
He will motivate you
He will inspire you
Like a tree he will ground and cultivate you
We put people in boxes
And we say
You must be
THIS way.
We put people in boxes
Crammed in.
Like contortionists.
But without flexibility.
Expression is a lethal weapon,
Locked in my own judgments,
Don’t understand why I’ve been chosen to fill the shoes of an unholy person
I once had a spirit,
That would cry, Livid.
A soundless screamer,
A sleepless dreamer.
A cowardly warrior,
A body-less barrier.
A sharp taste of rum,
A native tongue.
When the soul spoke,
We press it, cut it, blow it out, and pin it up
We change our texture because it’s not desirable
We dye it as the trends change
And we die a little more ourselves each time
Have you ever sat and thought about what a true woman was?
Have you ever wondered what a real woman does?
The life of a woman is easily reflected, but is God vividly projected?
i feel sick.
sick from the hurt
from the pain
from the hate i want to feel,
but cannot.
sick from the hole in my heart
from the helplessness
from the power you have over me
I Love You
The most special words a guy could have said
We'll live happily ever after, like those fairytales I've read
Kiss me softly, whisper sweet nothings in my ear
Looking through a black girls eye
What do you see?
Ignorance is not uncommon
It’s everything it can be
Looking through a black girls eyes
I see pain
Pain that cannot be changed overnight
You'll always be second best
You'll always be just a pretty face
You'll always be someone to be seen, not heard
They tell me what I am, they say who I should be
"Women shouldn't think, that's not what they're for."
Her story begins where her mother’s ended
She tries to occupy and conceptualize the idea,
that her history,
was intended
She’s scared,
and each step she takes to escape leads to her life being
at stake.
Just as I thought it was save to rest my eyes.
The pain of the ignorance you exhibit is blissful,
yet it haunts me through the night.
Scary winds, so rough and so strong
Emptiness, that feels so wrong
Loneliness, dragged on for too long
My warm heart, once full of love and light
Was torn away from me one starry night
Alone in my shadow.
He creeps from his murky corner.
Fear envelopes my breath.
Paralyzed.
His coils slowly wrap my mind.
Consumed.
Shedding tears of fright.
Control is lost.
The National Musuem of African Art
is filled with beautiful art from historical moments in time
and indigenous native tribes
but one vase in-particular caught my eye
an elegant piece of tribal art
If a picture’s worth a thousand words, his vocal cords must never find rest. In this tiny cottage, his blossoming collection litters walls where the wall paper used to be. Each image features her, the most stunning female of life.
On the other side of sometimes, I wait with baited breath
On the other side of sometimes, I keep away from death
I am a woman
Not the woman on the front page of a magazine,
But a woman with thick thighs, and a large bust.
A woman of words, and a woman of thought.
I am a woman of dilligance and of pride.
What do you see when you look at women?
Do you see a women in the kitchen or do you see a women in the bed?
She was never the type to fall in love
Rather fall into bed
"Having a good time" was one of her mottos
Got what she wanted then fled
Hell no she didn’t want no ring on her finger
It's a sad sick world we're living in
Love is a word thrown around carelessly
And here is where the story begins
Women.
The creature that used to make a man fall in awe
The Creature that made men drop their jaws
We used to inspire ballads and poetry
Now it is solely pornography
We even once held surprises
I’m talking about crown on my head & power in my palms.
Closed fist in the air as I defend my cause,
To be treated like royalty and never anything less,
For I know my worth, so don’t take my warm heart for weakness.
There isn't a stir,
Dim light bathing the room in gold,
And she sits, staring out the window
The landscape a canvas she paints with her eyes,
Conjuring dreams from the mind to the beyond.
You are loved.
Forget what mama said
when she was angry
because you didn’t agree.
Turn away from that
boyfriend you had,
the one who broke
your heart and promised
In the mind of my mother
dishes are cleaned and neatly stacked
all on her account.
His dress shirts are washed and neatly pressed
in great, abundant amounts.
In the mind of me
I don’t go to church anymore,
there’s no sleep for the restless.
I spend my days with a crooked wishbone,
the meat still sticking to it,
and our shed smells like the gasoline
that burned out of me years ago.
I am a woman,
So I must be perfect.
I am a woman,
So I can't be too fat or too thin.
Too ambitious or too meek.
Too smart or too stupid.
Too sexy or too prudish.
They say to sit down,
want me to shut up.
They say I'm too young,
I can't know.
Tell me I'm ignorant,
I'm naive.
But I am experiencing,
right here, right now.
It was a real love story,
Like the ones you see in the movies.
She had every reason to believe it would
Last. Or at least she thought she did...
See she was the desperate type,
You act as if a crown lies on your head
and a gavel rests in your hand –
as if people were born
just to serve under you
and obey your every command
Reality will strip you of your illusion
Girls today are rewinding back to the Leave It to Beaver days with June at the helm of their dilapidated ship filled with: aprons, house coats, cake mix, feather dusters, and beige pumps.
Born with the XX chromosome,
(Why?!)
A little girl,
Growing up in a world,
Too big for her to understand.
A dad,
That got the hardest job:
To protect his daughter,
From the countless dangers,
I need a woman! Not a girl. One that will have my back.
She will tell me when I’m wrong and pick up on my slack.
(CHIME – rings the bell)
Have you any plan for after tonight?
(CHIME – rings the bell)
Have you any bed to take slumber till morn comes?
(CHIME – rings the bell)
Will you be my Valentine
Allow our paths to intertwine
And for our hands and lips to join for the very first time?
On this one day
This day of affection
Would you kindly stay
For example, Blocks.
Stacking rings.
Mr. Potato Head.
(What about Mrs. Potato Head? See what I mean?)
Those Little People that come in a family
their own house
their own car –
There's a mother caring for her child,
Who has the ability to calm the wild.
Her strength is that of an ox tenfold,
But she is calm, like a wind blown marigold.
When you shake my hand can you tell who I really am?
Or is it in my voice that makes you understand?
For all you could know I am the girl next door,
Or maybe even the girl that you have labeled the school whore.
STAND ABOVE IT, there are too many women out there, who have convinced themselves that they are not capable of surviving in a world where sexism, male chauvinism has rammed them into the dust.
Pretty young girl named Cree
Her boyfriend always giving her the third degree
"Who you with?" "Where you at?"
When he doesn't get the right answer he hits her with a bat
How is that? She says she love him like crazy
I wish that I didn’t have to tell you how beautiful your body is.
I wish that the world would shout about the beauty in the map of your skin.
The freckles, stretch marks, bumps and scars
You are hurting her,
more than you know.
Cuz she won't admit it
Her feelings won't show.
You lacerate her,
stroke after stroke
then you kiss that bitch
she's been broken.
The time passes by
unnoticed is it leaving so fly
it happens so quickly
like the change that happens in or world
from friends to enemies
Is it because we are not alike
why?the media changes who we are
You pay women to dance, while your love is at home.
Two Viking babies asking when daddy is coming home.
How familiar is my name,
For daddy’s the one to blame...
Your ice cold look is really just a new flame.
Death is a woman when she is killed emotionaly.
Death is a woman when her heart is broken.
Death is a woman when she is abused by the man.
Death is a woman when she is afraid of her own mind.
How To Be Cool At High School (colon):
a list that might be more appropriately entitled “How To Survive At High School”.
One: Listen to rap music.
Two: Like red meat, and also like football –
I have always heard the world whisper
your biggest flaw is my conscience
Because in words I convince you a universe of me.
“Your fault,.” he would say.
“You’re right.” Regret filled me.
“Try harder,” he spat in my face.
“I will.” Shame rose up.
“You need me,” he simply stated.
“Please don’t go.” Panic overwhelmed me.
A pure divine to life, beautiful as a lotus
that blooms from the dripples of water, and the rays from the sun.
From the soil a seed was planted, deep in the womb
The anatomy wept from agony and painless fear
I was a pumpkin
…once
Grown and harvested in the richest soil
My flesh could have fed
My seeds could have rooted
My life could have been meaningful
But instead of enriching the potential I had,
Iran, when did you end up infected?
I never knew so far has spread,
This deadly plague,
Now your women shall suffer,
You shall have your share of screams,
More cries from more Mothers,
I guess I was half-expecting the sound of fingernails to fill the room,
but I decided to let myself drown in the silence
sink to the bottom
until looking up was my last option.
How can you see
through the fog and the lies
that surround your scarf
You told one student he was going to Hell
and another she was not feminine enough
you told me that women have it easy
Who’d know the color of my skin presents so much ambiguity in society?
A different angle in the light of the city
What am I today?
For the historic family trees of America remain hallow at my name.
Women are just a different type of man
without one, neither would exsist.
we both have two arms,
two legs,
and two eyes.
two eyes that see few differences between us.
A Man and a Woman are like Peanut butter and Jelly
The Man, Peanut butter.
He starts off hard but when he gets whipped he becomes smooth and hard to swallow.
The Woman, Jelly.
Hey there, pretty lady.
That’s who I am tonight, Pretty Lady.
Pretty Lady this morning
Pretty Lady after this crap job
Pretty Lady now
how odd, to be a woman and a girl
to wear the dresses but concern about cleavage
more than meets the eye: because.
and so we waddle for the men –
twisting straps, my petticoat drawbridge
I can't decipher if it was love that caused me to be attracted to him
Was it his cologne or after shave
Was it his thug like mentality an his gentlemen facade
That caused me to be smitten by danger
My little lady,
Is going to work today.
Dressed in her Sunday's Best,
As she trots down Avenue A.
She'll sit at a bench,
For a near twelve hour day,
Yet still will only make,
Nearly half of my pay.
Had a sporadic moment of brilliance today
This extra-terrestrial brown skin
Bronzed with historical significance
Scarred with repetitive adversity
It isn’t coming off
With our flags, banners, and voices,
We march.
With tired bodies, overworked minds, and children in our arms,
We march.
For our daughters, granddaughters, and future generations,
We march.
I love my civil rights,
It helps to keep state laws tight.
The 13, 14, and 15th amendment,
How dare you try to suspend it!
It protected my heritage race,
Guaranteed freedom in any place
Shouts in the streets again
My pulse wakes from its slumber
With all risings, it says "amen"
Oh Lord, just let me get home to feed my kids
The breath that must withstand the agony of birth,
as an innocent child enters the world,
also is the air that cares for the stern man,
who pays her no mind.
Her careful hands cradle the baby bird,
People being treated unfair,
Being judged for their race,
For racism is cruel,
This is why we now have Civil Rights,
Freedom for religion,
Freedom of speech,
This is why we have laws,
Look at all these presidents,
They're all the same kind of gentlemen.
Wearing their suits and ties.
I wonder where are their wives.
Sitting at home?
Perhaps, I don't know
Because they can't tag along.
Equal people, same in hand and face,
but outcast quickly when not the chosen race.
Die for beliefs that should self explain,
that treatment you beg for, hope to gain.
Scream and battle with tooth and fist,
Civil rights are right, right?
Yes, indeed they are right,
because it say so in the phrase,
don't have an eyebrow to raise,
because civil rights are right.
Capture the past
I'll let it live
Very loud, asking for forgiveness
Ignite a passion for history
Let you beat me like I beat you
We're marching for our freedom and rights
Picking up a righteous fight
The streets are paved in black and white
So join us as we march for our morning light
By the way things used to bug me
is not the same way it bugs them
but with euality and equity it bugs us all now;
I know i wasn't able to do things they did
but now i can do what they do
here they come, riding on the two buses that would have changed the world, here they come, the freedom riders here they come.
Dream, Dream
That's all I ever knew
I have a few
Dream, Dream
Don't you see
We are one, not three
Dream, Dream
My skin is dark
That doesn't mean I need a mark
I had a dream last night that turned into a nightmare,I woke up still asleep and walked to school full of fear.The kids gave me weird looks and I didn't know why,
Met a man on the street today, black shoes, black glasses, black skin
Talked a while about this age we're living in
Told me his story, how he'd nearly made history
Until he realized the strings were pulled by white hands
Rosa, Martin, and I
We agree, see eye to eye.
Ain't we all equal?
Ain't we all people?
Susan, Sojourner, and I
Also see eye to eye.
“Ain't I a woman?”
Just as good as any man?
You think you can come back
And hurt me like the last time
Well, you can see I’ve put you in the past
You’re ancient history now
I’ve put you up with all my childish toys
It’s time for me to be a woman now
Eyes hold the truth
Black, blue, or green
No matter the color
They can still be seen
I look into his eyes
And I see the truth
The truth he tried to hide
But it made its way through
Afraid it will come back
Up like a shadow
Up like his smoke
Rolling in with the tide
Even when I hide
I'm afraid it will find me
I'm afraid I'm still to week to fight
Because I remember how
A crow's warning, the dark, soft death is near.
The danger is in the cruel, withered rage that keeps you in its grip.
The black grave, though rare, turned the girl drowsy as she struggles with her grief.
Do not promise what you will fail to deliver
Beautiful
Hopes are crystallized shards of glass
Fragile
But when they break, a maiden will cry a river
Promise
Each vow: special; varies in size and shape
Do you think avoiding me will make things better?
You should know by now, I’m a real go-getter
I’ll be who I am- screw tradition
I’m a woman, on a mission
I’m a huntress, and you’re the buck I’m having for dinner
To be a woman in some ways more masculine than man
To be a tree whose efforts bear no flowers nor fruit
To be uninteresting, unattractive, and unloved
To be showered with compliments and praise, and,
After tears comes fury
Rage, simple and true
Tears are everything women are supposed to be
Weak and powerless
Prone to emotional outbursts
Unable to defend herself
But when the tears are gone
Kept a permanent division between her thighsand in the eyes of boys her body was a playground.Young men slid down her swirling slide,counting a game of tag on her outstretched arms
Play our war drums.
Allow the beats of this body,
these bones
to cover bruises held like a second skin from wars that lay out blue prints imprinted in between our hips.
