"I am A Woman" (Rage Poetry by Yours Truly)

I am a woman -

A mother, a daughter, a sister -

I am not an object.

I am a woman -

A girl, an aunt, a friend -

I am not property.

I am a woman -

A human, a person, flesh and blood.

But then

I am a woman in America -

I am bitchy, needy, slutty, naggy, moody:

An endless list of unattractive qualities.

Grab me by the pussy,

And I may learn to behave.

I am a woman in America -

And I am tired of having the same conversation.

I am tired of talking to walls and

Audiences of deaf ears.

You would make our shame,

The massacre of our innocence,

Into our prison.

You would sentence us to the hell

Of feeling hatred and humiliation

Growing each day -

Reminding us that we are no more than incubators

For lives that will be forgotten once born.

You would make our bodies wards of the state -

But what of our minds?

Would you attempt to shackle them next?

Would you legislate us into submission?

Because we’ve been ripping tape off of our mouths for generations -

Silence is no longer our default.

Like the hydra, you can cut off our heads,

And we double in ferocity.

Do not underestimate us,

For we are many.

We have found our voice, and we stand together

Against wicked men.

#women #femaleempowerment #raiseyourvoice #ourbodiesourchoice #feminism #equality

Copyright 2019 Tommie Jean Loftin