Member Poem

I was born looking up.
My arms outstretched,
feet arched
and ready to leap.

The world said
“We don’t have space
for someone so soft,
someone so sweet.”

It was fire they wanted,
In the form of sharp teeth.
I listened to them,
but forgot how to breathe.

They said to be strong,
I couldn’t cry.
They said to be worthy,
I couldn’t be shy.

They used words for my kind
with kindness removed.
“She’s meek”
“She's weak”
“We don’t approve”

Their words silenced
the song in my throat.
It was replaced by their tunes,
their hard and crass notes.

Who needs nurture, kindness and love?
There's no money in the above.

Tighten your tie.
Tighten your noose.
You are here to earn.
You are here to produce.

So I shifted my gaze
down to the green
Not the grass and the trees.
Money and greed.

With hands in my pockets.
And feet flat on the ground.
I listen when they say
“It’s a women’s world now”