Friday, May 13, 2022: Linda Crate's poem "We Owe You Nothing For Existing"

 you don't appreciate the strength,

the beauty, the power, and the magic

of women; and you want to demand

respect?

society, go home, you must be drunk;

respect is earned not simply given

and you've done nothing to make me 

respect you or your opinions—

always a woman is too this or too little that,

she can never be enough as herself;

too fat or too thin or too smart or too daft,

she's too creative or not creative enough,

too pretty or not pretty enough to pay her rent

in this world,

too hairy or she doesn't have enough hair;

so many have starved themselves and killed their

own spirits trying to become a perfect woman

for you—

i'll tell you something maybe you didn't know,

women are women as they are and who they are;

they don't need your approval or your endorsements to

be who they are but they should have your support

if you want our magic and our strength and our power

to protect you and to encourage you and to heal you

because we owe you nothing for existing.

© 2022 linda m. crate

Bio: Linda M. Crate's poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has ten published chapbooks, the latest being Hecate's Child (Alien Buddha Publishing, November 2021). 

 

A social media link: https://www.facebook.com/Linda-M-Crate-129813357119547/