An Adjective of Submission or a Verb of Labour

Women don't get to be loved 

We are appraised and valued 

Bought and sold

Butchered and eaten 

Woman is synonymous with performance 

You're a marionette or a ghost 

The s**t or the Madonna 

If you are not devoured then you rot 

It is a political statement to exist for oneself 

To fight to remain whole in a world where womanhood is characterized by its slow death

I am forced to present my wounds on a platter to prove I have earned a place here 

To claw to a title defined by my service to a man 

If I am lucky one day I'll lose my name and my body and my life for the chance to be valued

If I am lucky one day my own eulogies will be thanking god for the low-calories recipes and wrinkle creams that kept me desirable 

He says he is a feminist 

While playing rap songs about f*****g b*****s 

While ignoring the news about an unnamed sex worker found dead

While making fun of basic girls for listening to Taylor Swift

Think of the women in your life

Can you tell me why you love her without reciting all the things she does for you?

Of course I am angry 

My anger is the only thing that belongs to me 

Everything else must be pretty and sacrificial and sexy and cool and helpful 

When do we get to be more than an adjective of submission or a verb of labour 

F**k being loved or wanted or valued 

When do we get to be human?

Reviews

[Jeyanthi]

Yeah, they think "freedom is GIVEN... " why just they want to take it in first place when both are same community, equal value and sharing same space to live...

[nadia dmitri]

Agreed, Jeyanthi, thank you for your review!

[emmajoygreen]

What raw, powerful writing, nadia! In all honesty, don't know whether to cheer or weep. Both perhaps?

Perhaps with the essentials eg; equality, need, understanding, warped humour, sense of humour, tolerance, empathy, good hearing - need again but - wrapped in empathy!

[nadia dmitri]

Thank you Emma :)))

[jacob erin-cilberto]

We are equals and I have always lived that creed since I was little...there is balance when men and women work together for it...and love equally for the right reasons...and one of them is respect for one another.
j.

[nadia dmitri]

Agreed Jacob, thanks for your visit :))

[Soren]

As admitted in the poem, anger is evident feeling an object and used are the fuel for the fire. culture has been cruel to women in the past. Although I believe inequality, equality does not exist in nature neither as to gender or individuals we each have our strengths and our weaknesses, and I believe that God is not a man, but a woman I call her mother nature, a great right about a very sore subject. There are a lot of divided feelings about this, but I believe we are all human.

[nadia dmitri]

Thank you for your thoughts Soren, I always appreciate your feedback :)