They’re always so comely,
Wearing fragile, filmy gowns.
A distant breeze ruffles their
Blond/auburn/raven hair.
They stand at a window, a widow's walk
On a land’s end precipice
Waiting for their fulfillment:
The man who will complete all
Those empty jigsaw places and make their
Inner Mona Lisas smile.
In high school they were the cheerleaders
And got the romantic lead in the senior play.
They were homecoming queens.
Later their studio-quality black-and-white glossies
Populated the society page where it was written that
They volunteered conspicuously
And went to church every Sunday.
They married quarterbacks and raised athletic stand-outs.
They baked cookies and dusted their dens.
They curled their daughters’ blond/auburn/raven hair.
We envied the ingénues and wondered
What was wrong with us.
Ideas stirred deep beneath the kinky hair
We tried so hard to straighten.
Solitary time was served in hours at the newspaper
Or in a practice room learning the character role.
We met beneath the bleachers to smoke and read Abbie Hoffman,
The sweaty gridiron as background music.
We ran without a backward glance from our towns,
Intense in the search for philosophical truths,
Querying everything and debating late into the night.
We married difficulty and raised our husbands
Until singularity became our way.
We fought with the world we were told to accept
And worked and worked and worked at becoming
Women.
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daisyjane
Joan H.
Scylla the Rock
Algis Kemezys
Ralph Tingey
marytkelly
Salon.com
Comments
MAWB, if we got ourselves together and formed a coalition we'd be a mighty force to be reckoned with. I worry that younger women, having not been involved with the women's rights movement, will be tempted to settle for less than they should.
Loved this:
Ideas stirred deep beneath the kinky hair
We tried so hard to straighten
Straighten the ideas or the hair or both? Love it, love it, love it.
Rated
Now I am complete without any of it.
You stir many thoughts on what I thought I needed and what so many women were told...I hope my own daughter knows more than I did at her age....TY COS...
Merlin, it's sad to me that so many young women, including my 20-something daughter, don't know or understand the struggles that we went through, both women and men, to redefine gender roles. I, for one, don't want to go back.
Owl, so glad this made you think and read and wonder. With the increasing repression touted by the reactionary Right Wing, I worry that those qualities, along with our rights to make decisions about our health care and who we want to vote for will be taken away.
Scylla, thank you. I have a feeling that strength will be necessary.
Joan, I'm happy to hear that you relate. These seem to be experiences that many of us shared.
Mission, isn't that the truth. In fact, it seems like many of us were told straight out that we weren't real women without men. I, too, worry about our daughters making the right choices.
Erica, the feeling of not fitting in followed many of us even to middle age. At least at this point in my life, I am happy with who I am and the choices I've made. it's led to a pretty interesting time!
Pilgrim, across cultures, so much is made of hair and what its consistency is and I remember so vividly the dividing line that was so apparent when straight hair was so in style and kinky curly hair was not. Now people say, oh I wish I had your hair and I always reply, "No you don't!" It's easy to wish for something and not count the cost.
Kent, thanks for coming by and reading!