It has been years since I’ve sat down and intentionally written a poem! However, when I read @TeamGirlPowa’s recent contest, Feminist Fire, and was asked to write something by @LimaBeing how could I refuse?
I joined #TeamGirlPowa the first week I joined steemit.
As a woman, it’s important to me to find and support communities of other women. From my time on steemit, I’ve noticed that the majority of SBD and “whale” accounts belong to men. Just like in the real world, steemit is a male dominated platform (that being said, I’ve been lucky enough to come across some incredible men here--guys who have mentored me, supported me, and promoted me)! And yet...I still need spaces that are built by and for women.
In this challenge, #TeamGirlPowa and their founder @Limabeing are asking authors to write poetry based on the theme Feminist Fire.
I was so moved by the theme that I decided to step up my game and write, because this project is shining a light on how regularly women are silenced or overlooked because they are: emotional, hysterical, or too much. Here’s what TGP said in their original challenge post.
One of the most insidious ways women and femmes are silenced is by denying them the right to anger. We are not allowed to be angry. We are told that expressing anger allows our words to be dismissed. We are told that showing anger makes us irrational, and that we will never win equality if we cannot argue calmly and rationally for it.
The rules of the challenge are simple:
- Write a poem expressing the theme feminist fire. Any form of poetry is fine: blank verse, free verse, villanelle, sonnet, rhyming, no rhymes—whatever you like
- Open to people of all genders
- Poems must be your original work!
So without further ado, here we go.
my anger is a factory by @lilyraabe
my anger is a factory
that turns hatred into love
because to let the rage consume you
is to let the darkness in
and i have chosen light
my anger is a factory
countless words and memories
working in unison
to show me the way the world is
a place where who i am
is overlooked
for what i am
a woman
my memories are factory workers
filing memories and moments
apologies and reconnections
broken promises
my anger is a factory
sometimes there is a power outage
and my mind stops producing love
then you might say that
i’m a bitch
i’m dramatic
i’m crazy
i’m hysterical
i’m too much
i’m not enough
my anger is a factory
when the power is out
the darkness sets in
i am sorrow
i am rage
i am vulnerability
then i am alone
and it is up to me
will i be consumed by the darkness?
sometimes.
i’m a factory
made up of steel bits
fixing me is, and is not, as simple as
replacing my parts
oiling my joints
and plugging me back in
my anger is a factory
that turns hatred into love
because to let the rage consume you
is to let the darkness in
and i have chosen light
In this poem I’m writing about the experience of being a woman and needing to constantly manage my emotions.
Sometimes I feel like managing my inner emotional state requires a factory-like precision wherein I can convert my angry, “hot” emotions into more productive pathways. It’s yet another form of emotional labor to undertake in order to present as rational, calm, kind, and gracious whenever possible. This constant balancing act is like walking a tightrope; and when I fall, the darkness is right there ready to meet me.
I don’t want my anger to be silenced, but I also don’t want to live with its constant presence. How do we find the balance between expression, acceptance, and inner peace?
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