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Here's one I wrote a while back for International Women's Day. Someone in my office sent an e-mail around to all the women here wishing them a happy women's day and I replied with my poem. We've been having great fun all day sending e-mails back and forth about poetry. Not getting much work done though!

Woman

Image a world without
the soft caress of a mother's touch
a diva's song
a lover's blush.
With no sisters to share
our secrets
the soul records a solemn hush.

What father does not seek
his own perfection
in the mirror of his daughter's eyes?
What daughter does not seek
a true reflection
of the father she must idolize?

Many are the contributions
in every sphere of life
of women who express their joy
free from hatred, war and strife.

Erase the roles all women play
from birth to death to birth
and contemplate in greatest depth --
Could man walk upon the Earth?

Sherry

Hi Sherry

A heartfelt meditation on the important role of women in this world which brings up the idea of a world without women which would, as the poet indicates, be so much less than it is now. Good work, Sherry.

Chris

Dear Sherry ~

Another beautiful piece of writing by you. I love the way you expressed our different roles in your first verse, as well as the father-daughter relationships. Though it's arguably, probably more often, more complex; if you ever add to your poem, I'm wondering if you might include something of the mother-daughter relationships... though, the same as with fathers, they vary.

I love the thoughts in your third verse... and the realities in your fourth, with the full cyclic expression in this phrase ~ "from birth to death to birth."

Beauteous poem, Sherry. I love the way you think and write.


Love,
Lizzy

Well felt Sherry, and timed so nicely. A world without women, twould last 100 years tops but in consideration possibly no longer than a day. Hope you are well, and very pleased to be able to read your excellent writing.

Lizzy, Jim and Chris, thank you to all of you. When I was rereading it today I had a slightly different take on it than when I wrote it a few years ago. I realized that it also expresses the reciprocal need that men and women have for each other and I'm not sure I was consciously thinking that when I first wrote it.

Lizzy, I will have to think about the mother-daughter verse. I loved my mother very much, but our relationship was much more complex than my relationship with my father, so I find it much more difficult to write about mother-daughter things. The only poem I ever wrote specifically about my mother, I wrote in French, because I am more emotionally detached than in English. To make matters worse, my mother didn't understand French, so I never gave it to her. Shame on me for that. Perhaps, instead I should focus more on my relationship with my own daughter, which is very very good. Thanks for the suggestion.

Sherry

I was told that International Woman's day was begun as a means to show that women should have an equal place in society. I wondered way it wasn't called International Women and Mens day

Hi Jack,

I think you have a point there. Maybe it should be called
International Equality Day or International Down with Patriarchy
Day.

Sherry

Hi Sherry ~

In the interest of pendulums not breaking, I think this might work best: International Equality Day. It just has a friendlier, more cooperative tone .


~ Lizzy

lizzytysh wrote:Hi Sherry :lol: ~

In the interest of pendulums not breaking, I think this might work best: International Equality Day. It just has a friendlier, more cooperative tone .

~ Lizzy

I don't like seeing that equal sign between people so I would go for a celebration of Planet Earth Complementary Day

If we think that we are equal then we stop learning from each other.

As it is I think that men can learn from women to have more empathy and women can learn from men to be more honest.

Hi Jack ~

I can appreciate what you mean with your comments. For me, as I make mine in this context, Equality and the equal sign relate to rights and privileges granted by society and amongst ourselves; whereas, what you're describing relates to personal characteristics of personality and character, and there will never be true "equality" there, as we are all such individual creatures. All the Equality or Planet Earth Complementary Day celebrations or focus groups, trainings, seminars, etc. in the world will not make an unempathetic 'monster' of a being [male or female] into an empathetic one... nor a sociopathic liar [male or female] into an honest person. However, rights and privileges are more institutionalized and part of the fabric of our societies' functioning. Honest enough ?

Your basic premise, however, regardless of how one might categorize it:

As it is I think that men can learn from women to have more empathy and women can learn from men to be more honest.

... I agree with.



~ Lizzy