Woman
You knew from the beginning
that nobody would help you
that you would have to fight
for every little step back from men
writing their own history.
You waited for a long time
for a man to hear your words,
“I am you.”
Many of you were dragged by hair
to a silent room without windows
from where your scream ended in thick walls.
Some of you floated in the morning quiet river
while others who asked for too much
never came out of jail.
Many laws changed but they didn’t stop
the eyes of a hungry man calling you
when your rejection could jeopardize
safety of your family.
So, you walked toward never
ending cycles of release
and every time when you earned anything
you watched for somebody to collect a payment.
You knew that time would come
for even the most hungry man
to fear a bright daylight
frozen in time for others to see
the thousands of years of
the rape or death message
rooted below your skin.
Your pursuit of freeing yourself
from invisible although very real force
breaking your knees down
helped finally many men to gain courage
to release waiting for a long time a whisper
“You are me
but I am also me
so never stop.”
Copyright © Jerzy Gregorek | Year Posted 2020
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