of all the broken souls out there,

i chose to love yours.

Woman

and i saw you woman covered in black cloth
selling your body half-naked in porn magazines
deprived of your clitoris
a “sworn virgin” in the mountains
marching in beauty pageants

i saw you
loving your wife loving your husband,
loving your child
i saw you,
anorexic and bulimic
looking at beauty magazines,

i saw you,
earning the right to vote,
getting your PhD,
becoming CEO
carrying guns,
carrying bombs,
writing,
wearing jewelry
and heavy make-up,

i saw you
giving birth with no one around,
being raped,
brest-feading a monkey in the jungle,
riding a bike
wrestling,
playing golf.

I saw you
a mother feeling guilty
an object
a trophy
the weaker sex.

II.

When I looked for your face
I saw your reflection in the mirror
and with my fist I broke it into million little pieces
and I gave one to every one of you
and we danced and we laughed and we united
into a beautiful, colorful collage
and then I dared you, world.
Define me.
If you can.

The hardest thing to say
is
“You never happened”

At war.

 My flesh is my uniform, keep the flags for those who sleep in’em

don’t you gimme a gun, I’ll be making a spring wreath out of it

and using wooden sticks to make some music.

 

I don’t have weapons, I have tools;

my voice, some smiles, a pencil and lots of dreams,

you know, I’ll ask the enemy if he wants some of my bread,

and if he says “no”, I will let him go.

 

I’ll sing loud enough to cover the sound of bullets taking the lives

of men,and women,and children who asked for no war,

I’ll be dancing with my fellow soldiers, I’ll teach them some

latin moves, and we’ll be mocking you, Sir, for sending us to war, Sir,

so your bank account will grow bigger, Sir.

 

Cause this is not what I asked for, Sir,

and I refuse to embrace death and hatred and violence,

I can only write words, Sir

and I smile, a lot!, Sir,

I cannot destroy what I love, Sir

I’m a woman, I give Life, Sir.

 

At war, I’ll be a horrible soldier, Sir.