silent

Achievement without acknowledgement
Living hand in hand
With battered women rearing children alone
Brushing cheeks
With voices in parliament heard quietly amongst the rowdy crowd
Reaching goals without bombastic noise
Loving souls left behind
In the silent sounds of women suppressed

Noiseless tears of anger and resentment
While offering their shoulders
For others to climb and claw to the top
All the time
Fighting and calming unwarranted fears from the opposite sex
While collapsing from exhaustion
In a heap
These are the silent sounds of women suppressed

Silent unspoken nameless fears
Sexual harassment
Insecurity of not feeling safe
Then listening and following our gut instincts
Encouraging each other
Of showing our worth
Are the silent sounds of women suppressed

Voicing fears and opening hearts
Giving and loving and going without
Never relenting when the going gets tough
Taking responsibility for the crimes of others
Looking feminine as a matter of choice
Not because we belong in a dress
Hushed are the silent sounds of women suppressed

Copyright
Jane Frances Chapman
2002