As a figure in history and legend, she is mythic
but was regarded as parasitic and horrific.
She was demonized and dehumanized;
a woman so fiery,
known for notoriety and impropriety;
a mistress of seduction,
corruption and obstruction,
haughtiness and ungodliness.
Banished for not obeying Adam,
she embodied the fears of man:
a symbol of emasculation,
a primordial she-demon.
There is another side to her story.
Perhaps she deserves to be covered in glory.
She was strong and independent
and while facing resentment
for not being subservient,
she was unrepentant.
For many women, she is transcendent;
a figure so mythical
for feminine strength, she is the pinnacle,
her assertiveness: unequivocal.
Her name means "belonging to the night",
but she may be the brightest light
because - her admirers make no apology -
she represents equality.
Juan tells you he is an immigrant, northern mexico
that he learned to speak english in iowa
and these coupled are the reason
Juan's accent is different
Juan is not mexican
Juan lives in fear of americans
Juan in america is a raghead
a camel jockey, sand
this is not unique to america
the world is filled with such
infidel, hymie, gentile, untouchable
the word hardly matters
the effect is achieved
somewhere in the stratum
there is a lesser being
and while all are not as such
there are more than enough
to keep men such as Juan
ashamed of their heritage
the most segregated hour is 10 a.m.
on sunday morning, those easy pieties
of the church bizarre
mr. jackson sits in front of his mirror
in a prominent section of los angeles
mutilating himself into a white man
sometimes society is so successful
in its emasculation
we become our own honkey
then again, how can we be asked
to give up our
when even god seems to refuse
Phoenix 93
The long and winding roads
Are the roads less taken
The roads of dread and trepidation
Of emasculation that forge creation
Of character paths of self
That can not navigate the crossroads
Because the signs
Don't illuminate the bends
Of wrath and danger
Show me the road
Open ended
With a roadside bar
And Motel as friend
A Hitchhikes guide
Along with god beside
And will gladly ride off into the sunset
Of a darkened tunnel
And pay the toll at the end
Whatever that may be
Rather this
Than the road to hell
From dusk till dawn
Like a meteorite streaking
through the sky, iron
and nickel, for a proxy collision
with hidden destiny.
It was the post trauma
syndrome, after the great
divide of breast, lifting
the nipples.
The lofty peak crumbles.
There will be the scare
around, to grow the poppies
on the mounds again.
Are you ready now
for emasculation ? The
legacy will, on its own, pass
onto alternative sins.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.