Best In Chains( Poems
Woman in Chains
(What Man Would Abide It?)
Women throughout centuries – the softer sex.
I picture them subservient since what feels like time primordial!
What man would abide
being sold as if mere chattle and being called another’s property?
What man, with a love of learning or of writing,
would acquiesce and be denied
the education and the opportunities he so desired?
What man would dare take second place -
hiding in the background or covering his face
because society or church said things were meant to be that way?
What man would abide having cut off from his body
that part of him from which carnal pleasure is derived?
What man would let his feet be broken as a child,
bound up to resemble hooves to keep him in his place?
What man would abide being burned alive
if the dowry of his spouse were deemed unsuitable?
What man would abide (if not so inclined)
enduring the agonies of giving birth again and again
because his spouse preferred he stay at home?
What man would abide being raped or even killed
as punishment for even being raped?
What man would endure constant beatings for “his own good”
and feel good that his church or state approved this?
What man, if he were able to get pregnant,
would take on all the stress of unwed motherhood
when the one who got him pregnant bailed on him?
What man would abide the stigma and the soiled reputation?
What man would prostitute himself to feed his babies
because a job for one like him would not be given?
What man would abide living enslaved by an abuser,
afraid to run away or be found and killed by his abuser?
Atrocities like these through centuries have too long been endured.
No man would for so long a time endure them.
For reasons of pure biology, the role of the abused
was hoisted primarily on women.
Thank God for those strong women a mere century ago
who stood up, bravely fighting for women’s rights.
Thank God for lonely sister souls in faraway places
who even now stand fighting against inequities -
simply for the fact that they were born the softer sex.
Aug. 31, 2020 for John Hamilton's Woman in Chains Contest
Arousing opulence of ancient ballrooms
She creates her own make-believe world
Waltzing coyly in terpsichorean rhythms
Upon glittering stage where they sell love
Each time she caresses arms of a stranger,
Pretending to levitate in sultan’s harem
In glitzy appeal of polygamous mansions
Where she reiterates to sighs of ambivalence--
This used to be once the venue of glamour.
But her allegory of ardor quickly fades
As her disillusioned ego yearns for solace
When invisible bruises begin to ache
Having surrendered esteem to ruthless nights
Trading dead-feelings in lavish marbled halls
Where stench of alcohol, perfumes, and cigars
Traps perturbed anguish inside prison walls
From which, she knows, there’s no escape.
Initiation period for her was the hardest
When beauty and youth at height of apex
Squandered her magical Cinderella zeal
Abandoning fabled-castle her childhood built
Crying into that gutless, gruesome night
For lacking the force of fortitude to leave
Before she condemned her soul into abyss.
She’s worthless to the heartless crowd now—
A shriveled rose desolate in parched garden,
A discarded bottle of expensive scotch;
So, voicing contempt, like a caged bird she sings
About the wedding night she always fancied
Reciting lyrics, crooning spent feelings,
Whispering the names she picked for her kids.
Look closely at her, she has no chains now,
She can abscond easily whenever she wants
But, alas, no longer has she the desire to fly;
For her mutilated spirits relentlessly bleed
Ever since her own hands clipped her wings.
August 29, 2020
Placed 1st: Woman in chains poetry contest
Sponsor: John Hamilton
Inspired by Woman in Chains song by Tears for Fears
A band of gold
bound them together
At first Sue’s blissfully happy
but little by little
he starts controlling
every aspect of her life
eroding her self confidence
by criticising her appearance
choosing what she should wear
and when she goes out
holding her back
with silken threads
Sue loves her job
but he persuades her to quit work
after all …
she’s paid far less than a man doing the same job
When she stops visiting
friends and family
her parents become concerned
but Sue tells them
she’s happy and wants to please her man
knowing it’s far easier to give in
than risk another argument
and face the force of his fierce fists
Now, the only make up Sue wears
is to cover the livid bruises
on her pretty face
There’s no escape for Sue…
she’s held captive by the chains of love
Woman in Chains Poetry Contest
Sponsored by John Hamilton
08/18/20
WOMAN IN CHAINS.
Remember, when I was ‘the thing?’
When I was a chair, just there, with the remote on your coffee table, the cup of coffee you placed next to it, so you just had to lift your left hand to enable,
you to reach them;
You placed me there, like the chair.
You admired my face, which became a flag, that made me, your thing, to honour,or disgrace.
Did you rape me? I didn’t say no, I didn’t speak.
I lay in the bath, whilst salt water, rolled down the black, swollen bulging growth, that yesterday, had been my cheek.
You offered, in a silent command, to help me out, holding a towel, in front of your chest; I knew where I was going. The bed was old. The air was cold, and the sound of the children in the room below, seemed to drown out the rest;
Small voices, muffled in their detachment and confusion, of the inexplicable energy, of chaos, and illusion;
And because of these same, sounds-sake, they stifled any, I could make.
And you, marked your territory, like a mongrel dog, peeing on a wall. A dog without humanity.
In that act, that basic, ugly act, the ‘thing’ felt a shame, and ashamed.
It was then, that the Goddess within, awoke, arose, and began to shine.
The eyes with chains around the feet,
they can never see the beauty
Beyond the sounds, colors and smell
you get sucked up by the darkness
Sweep away dust and rat feces
the shadows of evil demons
The rainbow is a miracle,
next moment will never come back
Please give life back to these dark eyes
Escape from your inconstant mind
I swear: even the weeds will shine
This song will blow away with time
08.11.2018
Sun :) - A-L Andresen :)
Copyright © All Rights Reserved
- Eight syllables in each line
- www.howmanysyllables.com
Its creation’s simplicity still stands as a difficult puzzle
head is twisted backwards while in a forward motion
still looking behind at the chronicles of some centuries ago
long before the infiltration of Christian missionaries and Arab traders
is the exact factor making its existence seemingly complex.
Foreign politics and faiths both adopted,
have tied it with the ropes of inferiority
systematically indoctrinated to condemn
its history, personality and civilization,
while grabbing other languages and cultures so dearly
to the point of blindly pushed into Anarchy.
The modern world is on a high speed,
excuses of the west’s exploitations to build their civilizations
are noisy complaints and already cliched.
Small islands with no natural resources as Singapore;
the awe of the miracle of the Han River portrayed by south Korea
and the magical performance of India in information technology
are evidences of old colonies
beating their colonizers in some phases of development.
From Abuja to Addis Ababa, Khartounm to Kigali,
no Caucasian is seen, staying in charge of its state houses
but to give reasons to its mediocrity and indifference,
conspiracy theories and neo-imperialism twaddle are coined.
All these, just complications of a chronic low self esteem
but unfortunately manifesting at a time it should be confident
in the chaotic universe
of western imperialism, Christian materialism and Arab expansionism.
Dressed in Chains - The fear of war and the fear of oppression, after all of the violence we need to learn our lesson, we’re standing our ground and protecting our home, protecting the place where our families roam, the war drums sound, their hearts they pound, as the enemy draws near the fear sets the soldiers they release all there regrets, they slowly march one by one, the sound of war has just begun.
Here, away from the weight of strain
where domestic thorns are spiked and ripped,
she entangles her damp hair
then bares frozen sighs, running barefoot
along softened meadow grounds;
her soul cleansed by moonglow's peace,
forced not to yield to a man's cycle
of incessannt rage, as moist eyes
float with the new moonlight's gentleness
rendering herself empowered once more
against the hissing of pierced words ,
lesions marked on a slammed body... until
a balmy oak offers a hammock of strength,
while she tries to grasp the truth; aware now
that an alliance quite violent is illusion's bite.
Mindful, she knows she must return home,
to finally unchain herself from the shackles
of his vicious game... it is all over.
John Hamilton's Woman in Chains Contest
8/29/2020
Poem from my new blog
I Was Once The Man Locked In The Box
(Tribute Given To Alice In Chains, and Layne Stayley)
I was, once a man locked in a box
Begging for a savior smart as a fox
Even better, should my hero be a she
For it was Love that imprisoned me
I need a hero to gift my heart to
A warm loving angel to start life anew
A rare soul to bring out the best in me
For only by true love can I be free.
Pray I, now within these cold metal walls
For sweet forgiveness with my sincere calls
I a prisoner without any chains
Condemned to live heart-broke with my pains
In this mind-made steel cavern all alone
With this empty chill shattering my bones
Need I, a rare beauty to rescue me
For only by true love can I be free.
I was, once a man locked in a box
Begging for a savior smart as a fox
Even better, should my hero be a she
For it was Love that imprisoned me.
Beg I, an angel to come rescue me
For only by true love can I be free.
R.J. Lindley, August 2nd 1993,
Presented. 1-24-2021
Rhyme,
( When so lost, the mind becomes chained in a dark abyss )
Tribute given to the band - Alice In Chains, the song
Titled-- " Man In The Box", singer Layne Stayley
1st Note: 1993
Once the darkness held me in iron chains
So fiercely that I felt not the Spring rains
I was blinded and sealed in my own tomb
Prisoner in a soul breaking black room
My cries came back as waves on poison seas
Useless were my first angry cursing pleas
Only when heart and soul found the true light
Could I start to begin my freedom fight
Beg I, an angel to come rescue me
For only with true love can I be free.
2nd Note: 1-24-2021
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_in_the_Box
Tie me up in chains, tell me submit to your will, knowing that deep down inside it gives me an undeniable thrill
See in a way I am just as sick and twisted as you, because I am asking for you to do things to me that I normally would never let anyone do
Go ahead and blindfold me so that I can’t see, your touch is enough, that is all that I really need
Just the desire for you that is pumping through my veins, is almost enough to break me, it’s driving me insane
I never thought I would be this person, this masochist here on my knees, begging for the one that I love to punish me, to give me some relief
We truly are the perfect pair you see, you’re a sadist that loves what he does, and me I love the pain you bring
Not because I enjoy it and not because it is what I want to do, the only reason I am down here on my knees complying is because of you
If this makes you happy and this is where you come alive, then let me venture into your darkness where there is nowhere to hide
I know the risks and I am ready and willing to take a chance, if this is what makes you happy then who am I to question that
You once told me it’s not so much the infliction that turns you on as much as someone willing to do this for you, and in me you found the missing piece to the puzzle that makes up you
I know that I should be cautious and wary and not let my guard down, but I know the real you within and soon he will come around
If this version is part of you then I want to know him too, because when you love someone, you accept everything that they are, the tortured, broken, and bruised
All that I ask for in return of my deeds, is that you will still make me feel how you always have down deep
That you will protect my heart, that you will enrapture my soul, that you will do whatever it takes to make me feel whole
I want to hear that voice, not just the demanding one, the sweet sensitive one too, I want you to make me feel wanted in every way, with every part of you
And as I lie in your arms after the show is through, I hope that I still hear your sweet whispers in my ear that our love is true.
Lust is the chain that anchors us,
forged of thick iron rings
molded in white-hot flame.
The links tighten as they cool,
closing the final gaps
that separate us.
So here we are, willingly bound,
enslaved first by fire then
sealed forever by the strengthening cold.
You sit in shadows to keep your bruises hidden
Woman, please don't lower your head in sorrow
Bondage of the heart is the shackle you must break
No man has the right to keep you restrained in chains
So hear these words as the lyrics of a healing song
Allow them to soothe your lamenting cries at night
Cherished daughter of Eve, you deserve so much more
than the oppression you inherited by being born female
Woman, take courage and hold on to your dreams
Let no one keep you from reaching any goal you set
and don't forget to sing in a loud voice, proud and strong
as you welcome the blessings of life with each morning sun
You say you're alright, but there's no truth in that
The pain you feel comes from what lies deep within
Your heart aches because you think there's no way out
but dear woman, reclaim your virtue and set yourself free
He silences you with verbal threats and backhands
robbing you of all dignity. It's time for you to protest
Open that prison cell door, and grant yourself amnesty
Living means far more than finding a way to cope with life
In your hand you hold the key to unlock the chains
and flee from the horrid wrongs you've long endured
Blossom as a wildflower, swaying in a Summer's breeze
because you found the courage and the means of liberation
Join the chorus of other women, once suppressed
who now sing aloud of the vow they made to escape
and of the tyranny that kept them enslaved and fettered
Oh woman! You deserve much more than you've been given
August 24th, 2020
Woman in chains Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: John Hamilton
************************
Cursed at birth, of anguish no dearth
For parents a liability, subject to partiality
Her studies are curtailed, her ambitions derailed
Childhood spent on household chores
Serving males one of her chores
Bound by chain, her childhood is slain!
Oh! The anguish, the pain...
After marriage another agony begins
Criticised endlessly, hurting words stings
Beaten by husband, living in fear
A busy life, eyes filled with tear
No house of her own, can't run away
Unemployment, illiteracy comes in her way
Bound by chain, she is endlessly slain!
Oh! The anguish, the pain...
Restrictions in dressing, restrictions in movements, restrictions in mannerisms, special rules and regulations...
Despite this she is forcibly plundered
Her only sign of life, her body is devoured
Bound by chain, her body is slain
Oh! The anguish, the pain...
Men are superior, she has to obey their order
A rapist, a beater, are men superior?
Insensitive to feelings and tear, are men superior?
How is she inferior can anybody explain?
Why only on her are placed so many restrain?
By not keeping her in equal plane, humanity is slain
Oh the anguish, the pain...
Oh women! Break the shackles of chain!
Now onwards, the slayer must be slain!
Fight for your daughter's education
Teach her self defence and protection
Teach your son's to feel and respect emotion
When our children we properly train
No woman will ever be in pain
Pure happiness will reign.
Date: 8/20/2020
Die in chains or fly
A choice to live or die
A choice is the reason why
A choice considered for a lie
A choice is the destiny eventually by
A choice we don’t have is an eternity denied
A choice is a paradox ironically tied
A choice is no choice but to try
A choice remembered for time does fly
The nagging,
The pushing,
The constant prodding.
You try,
You work,
You make headway,
But it's ignored,
It's not enough,
It's never enough.
You become bitter,
You're angry,
You become morose.
Your will is strong,
You've done your best,
You're clearing hurdles,
But you aren't fast enough,
You aren't strong enough,
YOU are not enough.
The nagging is back,
The fault finding is back,
The blaming is back.
The berating,
The name calling,
Pushing you to the edge.
You won't break,
You refuse to break,
You lash out,
You scream,
You cry,
You fight back.
He stares at you,
He says there's something wrong with you.
You're insane.
Judy Ball
You're crazy alright. Crazy to stay in that mud bath.