Addressing Inequity
History books are filled with men’s escapades
Are women’s accomplishments seen as charades?
Joan of Arc had visions of saints leading her
to save France from Britain’s tyrannical cur.
Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat --
defending rights, she’d not succumb to defeat
Mary Magdalene had historians confused;
she watched Christ die, though apostles refused.
Eleanor Roosevelt was the eyes and ears
of FDR; she stood behind him through the years.
Marie Curie, first female to win the Nobel Prize,
joined her husband in efforts to save human lives.
Indira Gandhi ruled India two decades --
first woman leader killed when the Sikhs did invade.
Princess Di’s royal wedding seemed filled with joy.
Her death: an accident or a royal ploy?
But it’s Mary Shelley who seems most ignored.
Men said Percy wrote “Frankenstein”; Mary they abhorred.
Mother Theresa spent years serving the poor.
Sainthood come fast, by many she was adored.
These women claim their rightful place in history;
why others were ignored seems a mystery.
Women fought successfully for the right to vote.
Countless mothers to children their lives they devote.
Eve bit the apple, but all women bear the stain
of being weak, frail -- a concept I disdain.
*Entry for the “Tell Us of Women” contest
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