Today, a poem. I challenged myself to get words from a random word generator and work them into a poem. I’ve never done a poem based on random words, so I wanted to try. The result is, like many of my random word experiments, a little different. But it does say what I want it to say; at least, I think it does. This is a poem in two voices - one male, one female, co-workers. Men who express their feelings about a woman showing up to work beside them. A woman who wonders why. I’m sure many of us will find it familiar; I imagine I’m not the only one who discovered some of the men I worked with would rather not have women in the office.

WOMAN AT WORK

 So incongruous. Maybe a temptation?
Is she a virgin? Is she a person?
Spontaneous domination
Makes you wish to punish
A woman who has a dream,
A dream of a career.
She must be a fool.

But what if her work is quality?
What if she has integrity?
What if her desire is to demonstrate
Her worth and keep her dignity?
Why should you exclude someone
With a genuine sense of excitement?
What if she’s on fire?

It’s so extreme.
If it becomes common,
We might lose our power.
We can ignore her.
We can interrupt her.
We can minimize her.
It might seem like we discriminate,
But it makes sense to exclude.

What if she is reliable?
What if her ideas are sound?
Why do you tease?
Why do you whisper?
Why do you refuse to pay attention
To her worth?
Why do you chase her around your office?

She is a great visual.
Maybe she’s a good cook.
We wouldn’t mind being lost
On a desert island…or on Mars…
With her.
We want to hear her scream.
We want to see her cry.
We want her to go home,
Go home and have kids.

 We want to watch her dreams decay.