International Women's Day: Today

 

Today we exist, squared in philosophy doubtless,
and you dont get to look at our round bits less we want you to;
and that is still questioned too often.
Beauty ideal represents objective optioning:
option objective idea is beauty,
we think.

We see and this is our perspective,
one hard won day for us
recognised not as nation but inbetween them,
inbetween the social strata and development of maturation
but never quite mature enough in expectation
unless you count the wrinkles and apparently we ought to.

Our voices are the voices of girls who never got a day,
we change and remember changing,
we speak and remember not being heard as
you still criticise our sound
not recognising volume.

We are where you came from,
you exist in matriarchy even if you dont want to and
others say this day is recognition of that
because
we gave you the vote and you voted
we gave you a day and you took the night
took the piss
as you fight the problematic you reinforce it
wearing shoulder pads
you are no better than us and we see you.

We feel that too.
The chafe of the shackle, the scar
where it used to be and is still
written in paper contracts and bonds
now in cookie form!
Mountain climb ego makes exhaustion,
humour a yoke to perceived hegemony
all too reliant on guarantor
where bitterness is not a projection
but foundational.

We count our feelings and our pennies,
our metaphors and realities,
we dont learn your smile but ours and
intuit chaos in the chance,
blood price and war,
small battles and massacres,
taking stance, doing well, being us,
that fist to the face and sexual assault,
rape,
limitations,
accelerations.

We measure where we are against
where we have been
and know it is still not enough.