To All the Women Who Came Before
Dignity, purity, hope,
Entwined in a delicate rose.
These are the colours which hold
The futures of all women to come.
Run, run, run,
To the Free Trade Hall we run,
Eyes bright, souls lifted, the taste
Of excitement on the tip of our tongues.
Suff-ra-gette,
Was the name they gave us, scribbled
In every single newspaper, as if to say
"THESE WOMEN ARE TROUBLE."
Emm-el-ine
Pankhurst, her name. Equality, her goal.
The union, her child. The cause, her pride.
The name "SUFFRAGETTE" became our own.
Man-che-ster,
Where it all began. Where
The fires of change lit and stoked and
Spread their message in the dangerous smoke.
Da-vi-son.
Whatever became of poor Emily? I heard
It was she whose body trampled
Beneath the hooves of the King's horse.
Im-prison-ment.
Prison, the only place strong enough
To handle our emblazoned spirit. And so
They dampen it with poison down our throats.
One hun-dred
Years passed since our victory. I
am young but their strength runs through me.
My present is the history they endured.
To the women who came before,
We continue on your notion.
After all, it's "deeds, not words"
Which set the change in motion.
Copyright © Han Marlo | Year Posted 2023
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