I hear my mother’s voice
questioning my intentions
certain I’m not doing it right
this wifely thing
I’ll be abandoned, surely –
it all rests on a string for her –
if dinner isn’t on the table at 4:38
or the beds are not made right away
or the laundry basket, unfolded,
remains in sight –
then who blames the man
for leaving.
Six generations now
I’ve witnessed women fighting
for equality, for recognition
and still the old guard holds on
And now politicians –
men with loose jowled egos
and paunchy stances –
and so-called religious leaders
call for a retraction –
women’s lives at stake
Who will lobby for women’s rights
when the female voice is silenced
needs carefully tucked away
so as not to raise ire in her mate?
One Woman's Quest 