International Women's Day

Hello friends,

Today, I offer you a poem in honor of International Women's Day that I wrote last year. Hallelujah for the women who have come before us, and those who are paving the way now.

~ The Ground Beneath Her Feet~

each step is taken with a different

woman's foot

a sweet child innocent of pain

the woman going to confront her fears

a painted hong kong whore

the shy lover

me walking home

a wizened hippie whose hair flows freely

the woman who just can't leave

a mother who knows whom her life is for

a step. transform.

now i walk through tahrir square,

witnessing a revolution... step/transform

now i carry water home from the village well

my sari swishing around my ankles... step/transform

now i run along the beach

in blissful first world peace... step/transform

now i walk in sure-footed confidence in

the jungle that is my home... step/transform

now i click-clack on the glass ceiling

in my power-hungry heels ...step/transform

now i leave my war-ravaged city for

the promise of something better... step/transform

yet i am untouched

i know not where one woman ends and i begin

i walk from decade to decade

century to century

infused with the grace of wisdom

of the billions of women who came before me

leaving a breadcrumb trail

for the billions more to come.

~ Poonam Desai

Comments

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