Equality Or Irony?
Heidi Joy Resnick
My Fore-Sisters fought for me...
They suffered struggles I know nothing about.
Equity and civil rights for women who now reap
The spoils of their toil and victory of Voice.
They marched and fought, their crisp cotton slips
Dragged upon the dusty ground,
Stiff corsets cinched their breath away...
For me and my Sisters now.
From voting rights to fashion choice
To educational opportunity...
I wonder, though,
as I rub my tired feet,
and attempt to erase the control-top lines
from my once taut tummy;
as I wipe the mascara
from under my tired eyes;
as my mind dreams up a "healthy" meal
from an empty fridge and canned-soup larder;
as I stare at my left finger, naked,
devoid of diamonds, commitments, and love,
If Choices for women haven't backfired, somehow?
Opportunity and choice of roles women want to play,
Has now melded into Expectation and Survival;
Professional careers for personal growth,
A blue-collar job to survive
Motherhood and Homemaker.
Or all of the above...
And ironically my choice cannot be,
Because my Fore-Sisters fought for me.
I'm tired and I want to cry
I want my biggest responsibility to be
Meeting the plumber between eight and three...
And singing to my children, but this cannot be,
Because my Fore-Sisters fought for me.
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