One of the plays about me concluded that the most important thing I did was have my daughter, the one who married a Frenchman and history doesn’t even remember. She made up a whole life…and a line of descent…for my daughter, then had her descendent act as a surrogate for a couple of rich folks who couldn’t have a baby, so my most important accomplishment…was having the daughter who supposedly had a child who had a child who…well, you get the picture.
Read More“Well-behaved women seldom make history.”
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.
Read More“Someone is going around shooting women…and promising to shoot more.” Simon was undisturbed by the restrained rage in Elle’s manner and voice. “So I’m taking steps to protect the women.”
Read MoreYou know how some days you have something you need to do, but it’s hard to get started? This is one of those days. In fact, everything was hard to get started today, from the moment my cat walked on my head to wake me up to the moment I sat down at the computer to write.
Read MoreIt wasn’t supposed to be like this, right? She married early and was pregnant at nineteen. Oliver was only a year old when she got pregnant again…Sophie came along, a darling but a lot more work. Then…Caleb walked out. No reason, no explanation, just a note saying “I’m gone.” Child Welfare hadn’t been able to find him, so no child support. She was still officially married to a man she hadn’t seen in eighteen months. Rumor had it he moved to Australia. She couldn’t track him down. She didn’t have any money.
Read More“Sure. If a man wrote it. Look at this. ‘Although the research is sound and the conclusions are solid, our readers simply will not take it seriously if the only authors are women.’ And why not? Why would they take it seriously if it had a man’s name? Don’t answer that.” Kayla wasn’t ready to deal with one of Megan’s tirades, though she usually agreed with her. She ripped the letter in five pieces and threw it in the wastebasket. “Well, back to Home Ec class for me.” Her tone was mocking, but her heart was heavy. She had worked a long time to earn her degree, to complete her research, and she had paid her own way through.
Read MoreThis year the United States inaugurated the first ever woman Vice President, a woman of color. She is talented, intelligent, energetic, and capable. She is inspiring. While some people were conspiring how to steal the victory and hand the office back to the old white man who was holding it, the rest of us were cheering her on, excited and hopeful, more hopeful than we’ve been in some time. It was a major milestone.
Read MoreAs a general rule, I don’t.
Don’t what?
Just…don’t.
Whatever you were about to ask.
Make you a sandwich.
Dust the office.
Vacuum and clean the toilets.
“Thank you for shopping at King’s”, the checker intoned, bored and ready for quitting time. She ran a few items over the scanner for the customer in front, and tossed them in a sack. “$10.72.” Clarisse waited while she counted out the change. Now it was her turn. “Thank you for shopping at King’s. If you didn’t have a royal experience, please fill out the comment card at Customer Service to let us know how we can improve.” She didn’t look at Clarisse as she ran her groceries over the scanner. “Oh, cabbage. It’s a two for one today…our cabbages and King’s sale. Would you like another one?”
Read MoreBe a woman.
Be mild.
Don’t talk back.
Don’t assert yourself.
Smile.
Care for others.
Don’t talk back.
Don’t ever talk back.
When a shark kills a woman on a beach, they choose not to close the beach and tell the tourists to stay home, stay safe. I saw the movie, and I don’t remember a single time when someone shrugged and said “Sharks will be sharks”, and everyone went back to what they are doing while blaming people who became shark chow for their own failure to wear appropriate shark repellant bathing suits. That would make a rather short movie, right?
Read MoreMusic. Discordant, loud, like an out of tune accordion. Stops. Drums, no rhythm, just noise. Stops. A bright light flashing. Stops. More noise – rock music mixed with classical. A chorus of gospel chimes in. Bells begin to ring. Each music style gets louder, tries to drown out the others. A country guitar begins to twang, getting louder, drowning out the other styles, which one by one cease in a gasp, a whisper, a choke. Country picking, stomping, fiddling continues, but becomes bored with its own sound, getting quieter and quieter and stopping suddenly as a tentacle lifts and slaps, gasping off into silence.
Read MoreMom was in full voice tonight. She was giving her opinion on everything…the weather, the president, the women at the gym, the freshness of the fish at the store…like always, she had plenty to say. Autumn was glad. She preferred Mom give her opinion on external things, things none of them could control, rather than turning her tongue on her daughter.
Read More“I’m 45 years old, and I’ve never killed a man. I suppose you think, so what? Nothing to brag about, none of the rest of us have, either. Reflect on that. Think about the fact that, in spite of everything, no matter what has happened, you have never killed a man. Now, think about whether you have ever wanted to. Ah, I see on your faces…most of you…maybe all of you…have at some time in your life wanted to kill a man. And you are all younger than me…less than half my age.” She paused for effect; the students stared at her, not sure what to make of a professor who started the first day of class in such a manner. It was…different. It was uncomfortable. The girls shuffled in their chairs, scratched pens across paper, and tried not to look at each other.
Read MoreDear Grandma. It’s been a long time since I’ve written you a letter. You deserve better. I shouldn’t stop writing just because you’ve died and I’ve grown old. You gave me so much, and I think it’s time I said thank you. It is because of you that I am who I am…and, I guess, when you think about it, it’s because of you that I am.
Read MoreMy upbringing included a share of the household chores. I don’t mind that; I think it’s good for children to learn how to do the things they’ll need to do as adults. But the situation always seemed sort of…wrong…to me. I had household chores. My sisters had household chores. My brothers…well, they did sometimes have to feed and water the livestock, but I had those chores, too. And household chores on top of it. My mother was a big believer in a separate role for women than for men, and that no good would come to women who stepped out of that role. I was expected to get married, have babies, and spend my life taking care of my husband and my children. What I wanted didn’t really matter in the equation, because I was a girl…and would be a woman soon.
Read MoreWoman.
Ask Google. What are words for woman?
Google says:
She started to open the door, but he slid out of the driver’s seat, lying half in, half out of the car. Now what could she do? There was no way she could get him back in; he was a large man, and she was a small woman. She pushed and tugged, but it was no use. She started to panic. This wasn’t a busy street; the odds of someone else coming by were astronomical. It was unusual for her to met anyone else; only about once every few months or so. It had to be tonight…
Read MoreYour trophy is not on your wall;
It’s on your arm.
You hold tight to the waist
As you work the room.
Smiles and knowing leers
Prove to you you’re a man.
Once I had a dream.
I would…fly.
I would create things,
Go places,
See things,
And do things.
I would be everything
My grandmother wanted to be
But couldn’t
Because she was a woman.