Tonight’s poem comes from a Mondegreen. If you don’t know what a Mondegreen is, it refers to the misheard lyrics of a song, you know, like Round John Virgin. I don’t remember what the song was, or who the singer, or even what the real line was. Whatever it was, I misheard it as “Misogyny paved the way”. So tonight, a poem based on a line I didn’t hear right.

MISOGYNY PAVED THE WAY

 The road was full of potholes,
A steep and treacherous uphill climb.
There was no handrail,
And the cliff led to
A pit of boiling tar.
A road hard to navigate,
Even harder in high heels.
And misogyny looked on.

The road was mostly smooth,
A slightly sloping path.
A handrail protected
From a fall of less than a foot
Into a bed of grass…
Some of it soft.
The sneakers were all that was needed,
And misogyny paved the way.

She reached the top,
Exhausted and disheveled.
Her hair escaped the pink bow,
The heels broke off her shoes.
She kept out of the tar,
But had dirt on her knees.
There was no further passage upward.
Misogyny slammed the door.

He trudged up to the top,
Complaining of sore feet.
His hair was coifed and smooth,
His tie straight and his vest buttoned.
He stayed out of the grass,
And no imperfection showed.
He pushed the button and the elevator opened
And misogyny paved the way.