Strong
by Talia Pott, Rising Junior
I am a woman
Do not lie to me and tell me I can’t play sports
Do not say I can’t be a politician
Do not exclude me because of who I am
Don’t say I can’t dance across the rainbow
Don’t say I can’t swim the fiercest ocean
Because I am strong
I am beautiful
And I can be whatever I want to be
And you can’t stop me from that
Because
I am a woman
Talia,
ReplyDeleteYour message is clear, and it is one that I am sure will resonate with many. One should not say you cannot achieve greatness because you are a woman; it is the fact that you are a woman that helps you to achieve it.
The repetition in this poem really packs a punch. It creates a sense of consistency, as if the narrator is so confident in her words/feelings that she’s willing to repeat them over and over again until someone listens. I also love the image of dancing across a rainbow, it evokes so much joy and power.
ReplyDeleteTalia,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts across generations. Everything voiced between your first line and your last line focuses on the life you have available to you to lead in a powerful, inspiring way! Please continue writing about your perspective and your decision to be phenomenal.
This is a very bold personal declaration, but one that I suspect speaks for a whole lot of other women and girls. It is interesting that five of the poem's twelve lines begin with "Do not" or "Don't." It's kind of a rebuke to the social and cultural forces that have excluded women from so many areas for so long--telling them that there are many things they can't do. A very empowering message!
ReplyDeleteYES, yes and another yes. When I grew up my choices were to be a teacher, store clerk or nurse. We have all the skills as the male and probably more common sense, but I can not say that for lack of proof. That was a great statement and it got me all fired up. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteStand in that power, Talia! If you are not familiar with Helen Reddy's song "I am Woman," go listen to it!
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Two poems/poets that might inspire you: differences of opinion by Wendy Cope (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=48086), Progress by Rupi Kuar (https://www.instagram.com/p/BRUkUs-ggR7/?hl=en&taken-by=rupikaur_;%20by%20Rupi%20Kaur%3Ca%3E%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/span%3E%3Ch4%3E%3C/h4%3E%3Cp%3EAddressing%20themes%20of%20feminism,%20body-image,%20violence%20and%20her%20experience%20of%20being%20a%20first-generation%20immigrant,%20Rupi%20Kaur%20began%20publishing%20her%20poetry%20and%20illustration%20on%20Instagram%20when%20she%20was%20in%20her%20early%20twenties.%20Her%20debut%20collection%20%3Cem%3EMilk%20and%20Honey%3C/em%3E%20went%20on%20to%20be%20a%20New%20York%20Times%20best-seller%20when%20it%20was%20published%20in%202014.%20Rupi%20Kaur%27s%20second%C2%A0poetry%20collection,%20%3Cem%3EThe%20Sun%20and%20her%20Flowers%3C/em%3E%C2%A0was%C2%A0published%20in%20October%202017.%C2%A0%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%27our%20work%20should%20equip,%3Cbr%20/%3Ethe%20next%20generation%20of%20women%27%3C/p%3E%3Ch5%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca%20%20data-cke-saved-href=),
ReplyDeleteThanks you guys for the support. It means a lot to me that you appreciate what I have to say
ReplyDeleteDid you read the other poems? I'm so interested to hear what you think about them! (I was the one who posted them, but I must have been logged into a different account because it marked me as 'unknown')
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