FOR I AM A WOMAN

This poem is written about me and about my experiences, and while sharing that was my intention it was also my intention to create something for women of all ages and backgrounds to relate to.

I was gently made and perfect
Petite and molded with flesh and bone
From you, I came
I sprouted and grew
And as soon as I bloomed,
I wilted, began to rot.

You watch my every move,
Intently, closely.
You give the jobs to me and never to him.
From your mouth, I'd hear
"So nice to have a daughter.
An oldest daughter. So helpful. So sweet."
So helpful, I'd think
As father would demand I clear his plate.

It's only the role of a woman
The purpose for her birth
The meaning of the word She
To look pretty, to serve.

I'll slip through the cracks of your meaningless words
Take the love I was blessed with and spread it somewhere good
I'll put it all behind me, hold it close to my chest
Leave a hollow void of yearning, of cold and apologies

And sorry for what? For the curve of my hips?
For the organs I was given?
For what sits on my chest?
Sorry for the past and what I learned and rejected?
For the way that I tasted it, spat it back up like poison on my tongue?
Am I sorry for the ability to carry, to give new life?

Is it the way my voice sounds, silky and liquid smooth?
Is it the hair? The lips?
My jaw? My bones?
And if theres a God up there, some kind of creator
Am I sorry for the way He built my frame?

No, it's for the way you decided I'd be
The role you decided I'd failed to fill
The duty of the woman, submissive, complicit
You'd say, "I'm doing your job"
I'd say, "You're doing the dishes"

Like Lilith with shame looming over her head,
Happily I'd cast it over a family like yours
I'd let the screams and anguish of a thousand women before me
Consume me completely, rip me asunder

In my heart I'll hold the hand of the little girl
Who lived in confusion, why her brother lived a better life
Caress her hair as she cried in pain
Hush her cries about wishing she'd been born a boy.
I'll wrap my loving arms around her,
Tell her she is as perfect and individual as I am now.

And if it must be that I am cast aside,
Your hand dashed across my cheek and I am cast in shame
I'd take the dive a million times
And each time, you will hear my voice without even a lick of doubt, booming

YOU WILL NEVER HOLD ME
FOR I AM A WOMAN.

Author's Note

Constructive criticism heavily appreciated

Reviews

[Swagato Saha]

It's a powerful piece of work. Thanks for sharing, and I hope to read more.

I wonder, in the penultimate verse -
"And if it must be that I am (cast) aside,
Your hand dashed across my cheek and I am (cast) in shame"
- it probably works better to switch the second "cast" (in shame) with something else?
Perhaps -
"Your hand dashed across my cheek and I spent in shame"?

Unless you consciously choose to repeat, of course, for some reason. It's a powerful piece of poetry anyway, as I said.

[Anastasia]

Thank you so much - and your advice will be kept in mind