I am Eve
living with accusations
storage full
Commissioned to clear
the backlash of parked myths –
vessels in need of repair
The path is uneven
littered with stones thrown,
still I proceed, plan
Patriarchy stands by
smugly vilifying
I am the snake
Deceit my foe
control my folly
battling a lost cause
Till rebirth redefines
innocence, grabs
serpent by the tail.
(Image from personal collection.)
From Nature, instinct,
intuition – confidence
of nurture derived.
(For RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Challenge: nature/nurture. Â Also linking up with BrewNSpew’s weekly challenge: folklore. Â The Ugly Duckling is a fairytale from my childhood. Â Image from personal collection.)
Influence minimal,
once hair turns white
and body slows to sloth
Only words – genderless
and without context
serve to blindside
Last weapon of age.
(Image from created by yours truly.)
He craves Wiener Schnitzel
and egg rolls –
complicated request –
they settle on
Austrian, forgo
the Chinese.
Noise of the place
disconcerts her –
rather be home
or somewhere quieter
(though she’d never say),
insecurity slides in
as resentment
pulls up a chair –
How is she dining here
with indifference?
Restaurants take her back
when the heat of the kitchen
consumed her –
yelled orders,
yelled at,
rush to cater
tip or no tip
A real education,
her Father said,
but sore feet and
a broken back
left her none the wiser
Stuffiness of ochre walls,
brocade upholstery
close in, reminder
of former lovers,
She doesn’t even like milk-fed calf
Mind wanders to other walls,
now crumbled, remnants
of dreams, boundaries
set when pup- like
loyalty won hearts,
shattered her own.
So many failures
she is ashamed
feels like a stray
living off scraps
It’s a rocky path
she travels these days
solid ground a forgotten
concept, teetering
on brink of flight
no legs to carry her
Resigns herself
to Wiener Schnitzel
convinced that compromise
matters more than
personal fulfillment –
Takes a bite of baby cow and smiles.
(Eating Wiener Schnitzel first appeared here November 2016. Â This edition is edited. Â Image from personal collection.)
It’s time to resurrect
our confidence,
recapture the sensitivity
of intuitive knowing,
acknowledge the power
of our resiliency;
we are women
merciful companions
healers attending
Divinity’s passage,
peace-seekers
directing life’s journey.
Too long have we equated
self-esteem with
patriarchal agendas,
disappointed with
our inability to meet
media standards,
blamed ourselves
for divorce,
disease,
staying home
to raise the children.
It’s time to honour
our strength, restore
feminine worth,
align our resources,
we are iron grace,
mindful caregivers,
mate with intention,
our vulnerability,
our sensuality,
aspects of intrinsic
wisdom, we are
keepers of the dream
beings steeped
in mystery:
it is time.
(This poem originally appeared October, 2017. Â Image from personal collection.)
Invisible
marginalized –
components
of self
devalued
by marketing trends
still sentient enough to need:
acknowledgment
recognition
acceptance
respect
kindness
never overrated.
Expectations safely stowed
pursed alongside judgment,
I am bent on finding an outlet
for already disgruntled disposition.
Encounter inexperience
fumbling responsibility –
an overwhelmed innocent
lacking in accountability
I offer a suggestion,
to roll up my sleeves
and before I know it
compassion’s employed
This was not my intention –
I am ill-equipped for such
a commitment, surely
I am of no practical use.
Yet, here I am, engaged
expectations tossed
in favour of service –
please don’t judge.
The world, I’d say,
is struggling to endure –
upheaval the new norm
old protocols redundant –
insane the political thrum.
Surely hope has remained,
a constant flickering might.
…and some days
we stand up
topple the furnishings
of corporate order
decry politics
and etiquettes
and rage,
rage,
inner light
exploding
in a shattering
ball of fire
blinding
purifying
setting souls free
setting us free
…and then
it’s over –
in a blink
and our desk mate
still sleeps the slumber of automaton
clicks a mouse in rhythm with photocopier
we sigh
and re-conform.
Impulse once drove my plunges –
glorious confidence propelling
fortuitous dives – unknown waters
an adventure to be conquered.
Even with onset of anxiety
I’d stalk shorelines, ignore
whispering of  catastrophe,
hold my breath and submerge.
Doubt would follow determination,
but buoyed by adversity, I’d swim,
force commanding adaptation –
I’d find my mermaid’s breath.
Motherhood introduced constraint
called forth sensibility and caution –
whimsy replacing practicality,
a shedding of iridescent tail.
I only dig in dirt now –
ground my offspring to earthly
forays, forbid capriciousness,
convince myself I’m solid.
Absentminded burrowing –
(corners of compulsion)
reveal abandoned passages –
old waterways exhumed.
Proclaimed pragmatism falters,
spontaneity takes hold, transforms
I am nymph again – free floating
Neptune’s daughter resuscitated.
(This poem, originally entitled Chasing Mermaids, first appeared in September, 2015. Â It has been edited. Â Image is my own.)
One Woman's Quest 