ABOUT THAT WOMAN
I.
remember that time, long ago and far away
yesterday and still today
there was this woman
she harvested crops after planting and tending the seeds
she wove cloth from yarn she spun, and made clothes by hand
that woman carried the burden of seed implanted for nine full months
gave birth on her knees over a blanket of leaves
gave birth on a dirt floor, or under a tree
by the shores of a raging river too dangerous to cross
gave birth in a desert oasis at night
gave birth on the fields of war as well as peace
gave birth when hope was alive
and during winter’s frozen fears
that woman gave birth to art painted on walls while
stranded in ancient caves with children
gave birth to clever traps for hunting Stone Age prey
wielded a club to keep masculine predators at bay
that woman carried grief as gamely
as she carried her offspring and tools and male violence
until she could discern a better way
she wore woven skirts in rain forests
long dresses to worship in temples of the Gods
warm fur pelts in northern winters
and nothing at all on islands deep in the Pacific womb
until belief in a single male god dressed this woman in shrouds of pain
pain she wore as a scourge from another world
deprived of her birthright, she stormwalked
through the blood of women who preceded her
that woman, any woman, every woman
she was 14 and sold into slavery
she was 16 and fought on ancient battlefields
she was 20 and worked as a blacksmith
she was 30 and burned at the stake
she was 40 and revered as a wise one
she was 50 alone and homeless
she was 60 and ran for president
March 2008 © Jeanne Powell
www.jeanne-powell.com
5 comments:
Ah, Dear Eddie, you are too funny!
You first showed me the poem a year or so ago. It was funny. Now, you have turned it into a piece of wonderful Performance Art! The harmonica a great touch!
Judy, Suzanne and I give it three Big Thumbs Up! I will share it with others. Breasts indeed! You are much too tough on yourself, Ed!
Wonderful poem about women. Thanks for posting.
Enjoyed your video--you play a mean harmonica!
Did I not hear that piece at a reading? Anyway it is beautiful You make a good read---Jim
By the way, your blog is quite entertaining. “On Getting Old & Fat” (complete with harmonica and Beethoven, from my favorite piece of music: 4th movement of the Ninth) is great! Nuns with guns for virgin hunting Muslims? (Say that 10 times fast.) Haha! And a nod to Quixote. Keep it up, Ed. Nice gig. Would you like me to post a link to your blogs?
Dave Herrle, Editor
Subtle Tea, London, England
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