We are not as heavy
as the man whose skull is filled with dollars,
our voices do not rumble,
even though we cringe at the dark clouds
bulging down toward the horizon,
fearing the explosion of the holocaust
sparked by hate and dust.
Nobody has explained to him that breast milk is baby food,
even if he clings to his religion,
even if his blond hair makes him feel superior
on his raised bed,
treading on the cemetery of rights,
the promise of some sort of vague greatness
where his ego shines.
Spare us the meanness of your fabricated stepmother;
you may offer us, instead, the lightness and the light,
the crushed wishes of women
who have been vilified for centuries
the crushed wishes of women
who have been vilified in their struggle to fulfill their goals.
Let me walk away from the shadows of your prejudice.
The fortitude of broken dreams
continues to behold the monsters of the past.
Yet we dream of being the protagonists of a new chapter,
even when we know that hope is not enough.
Note: In America gender and ethnicity continue to determine the value of one's work. An African American woman makes 63 % of what a white man makes, whereas hispanic women make 54%, even with the same training and experience. This poem is dedicated to those who struggle with the evils of sexism, bigotry and xenophobia on a regular basis.
Author Bio:
Julia Hones had her poems and stories published in various journals and anthologies, both in print and online. She writes about being oneself in today's societies, relationships, gender and ethnic bias, modern slavery, the interaction between humans and nature, the impact of technology, and other subjects. Her poetry was a semifinalist for the Mary Ballard Poetry Prize 2015 and was recently shortlisted for the erbacce Prize 2016. She published her first poetry collection in 2016: "She Opened the Cage." To learn more about her list of published works you can check this link: http://juliahoneswritinglife.blogspot.com
as the man whose skull is filled with dollars,
our voices do not rumble,
even though we cringe at the dark clouds
bulging down toward the horizon,
fearing the explosion of the holocaust
sparked by hate and dust.
Nobody has explained to him that breast milk is baby food,
even if he clings to his religion,
even if his blond hair makes him feel superior
on his raised bed,
treading on the cemetery of rights,
the promise of some sort of vague greatness
where his ego shines.
Spare us the meanness of your fabricated stepmother;
you may offer us, instead, the lightness and the light,
the crushed wishes of women
who have been vilified for centuries
the crushed wishes of women
who have been vilified in their struggle to fulfill their goals.
Let me walk away from the shadows of your prejudice.
The fortitude of broken dreams
continues to behold the monsters of the past.
Yet we dream of being the protagonists of a new chapter,
even when we know that hope is not enough.
Note: In America gender and ethnicity continue to determine the value of one's work. An African American woman makes 63 % of what a white man makes, whereas hispanic women make 54%, even with the same training and experience. This poem is dedicated to those who struggle with the evils of sexism, bigotry and xenophobia on a regular basis.
Author Bio:
Julia Hones had her poems and stories published in various journals and anthologies, both in print and online. She writes about being oneself in today's societies, relationships, gender and ethnic bias, modern slavery, the interaction between humans and nature, the impact of technology, and other subjects. Her poetry was a semifinalist for the Mary Ballard Poetry Prize 2015 and was recently shortlisted for the erbacce Prize 2016. She published her first poetry collection in 2016: "She Opened the Cage." To learn more about her list of published works you can check this link: http://juliahoneswritinglife.blogspot.com
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