What Women Can Do

It’s Poetry Friday! Romona host today from her blog Pleasures of the Page. Thank you for hosting, Romona, and we look forward to seeing what you have in store for us on Poetry Friday.

I’m thrilled to see such a competent woman V.P. candidate on the Democratic ticket. Kamala Harris is smart, articulate (remember the Kavanaugh hearings?) and not afraid to speak the truth. We need to get women’s voices into the American Oval Office, in the executive branch of government.

Congratulations, Kamala!

I was thinking when I wrote this poem below, how women know how to do things. I don’t want to make blanket statement about all women, but often women are versatile. They are problem solvers and have to be. My mother was a nurse, but most of her working life ran our family restaurant’s kitchen. She could do many things, one of them feeding a dining room full of restaurant customers. Every day.

It may seem a little dark, but thinking of my mom and other women talented in so many diverse ways, inspired this poem: 

IN THE EVENT OF AN APOCALYPSE


Mothers make things,
can sew straight seams,
nurse the sick,
catch fish,
grow potatoes
roses and tomatoes
in rocky soil. 

So, if someday 
civilization crumbles
like an accordion, 
or a collapsed pile
of pick up sticks,
there might be others
of similar mothers
who carry the seeds
of a new world. 

© Janice Scully 2020

Enjoy the end of August. Stay well.

5 thoughts on “What Women Can Do”

  1. You are right on about most women and mother, Janice. At this time in history, we are ready for a truly democratic world where everyone is regarded for whom they are. Let us hope that Kamala and Joe will be the ones to bring us into the light. You’re poem is full of hope at the end:
    who carry the seeds
    of a new world

  2. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about mothers–they (we) do know how to take care of things. I really liked your last line, too. And I hope those seeds start to grow. It’s exciting to have Kamala as VP candidate–good for women and good for our country!

  3. Bravo! Now, we just need to act…as a force for change and good. So much of my growing up and understanding what I could do came with motherhood. It’s not necessary for everyone — but for me becoming a mother in my third decade opened up my mind so much. Unfortunately, I have dropped quite a bit of my patience for those who whinge about not being able to do what they can. C’est la vie. We mothers are tough!

  4. Terrific poem Janice, I love how you ended it,
    “there might be others
    of similar mothers
    who carry the seeds
    of a new world.”
    I love the idea of passing along seeds and new growth out of chaos, which we seem to have an abundance of. And wow your mom seemed like a superhero mom, what an inspiration for you, thanks!

  5. Oh, wow, Janice – so powerful! Love this post and your poem. And I’ve been a Kamala Harris fan since those hearings as well. (Then I fell in love with Mayor Pete and volunteered a wee bit for his campaign, but am thrilled now with the current VP candidate choice!)

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