1.
The women I come from
learnt how to thicken their skin.
How to tan it, and beat it,
until inch by inch
it covers all those soft spots
we might have thought to share.
2.
The women I come from
never learnt how to bow their backs
so far that vertebrae fossilise
into constant arches
that creak beneath the weight
of someone else’s moral compass.
3.
The women I come from
learnt how to carry their secrets close.
How to tuck away their thoughts
into deeper shadows
until the faces we painted on
become the only ones we knew how to wear.
4.
The women I come from
have hearts cocooned in armour.
They are riddles without answers
twisted into people.
They are worriers, and they are lovers
and they are more fragile then they act
when they take all of what they are
and entrust it, to someone else.
I was a bit at loss for which poem I was going to chose to write a response to for tonight DVerse Poetics. In the end I chose ‘Dragons’ by Sarah Kay, one of my favourite poets, and a poem that I find a lot of myself in when I read it.
My favourite bit of her poem is:
Me – I was not born with enough fuel. My anger often melts into sadness, it will just disintegrate into shame or fear, my clenched teeth release into chatter.
I come from a family that very much takes the ‘Keep Calm And Carry On’ approach to life. In some ways it’s a fairly good ethos as it has encouraged me to stay calm in stressful situations and I don’t collapse into hysterics in the face of an emergency. Emotions get bottled up until the practical side of things is out of the way. I get it from my mother, who gets it from her mother. Out of the three of us I’m possibly the most outwardly emotional person and some of that perhaps comes from my love of writing since you have to make use of emotion when writing.
I had a couple of busy days so I’m now going to try and get through a few of the other DVerse Poets’ entries. I haven’t had chance to read through many of the poems from yesterday’s DVerse Event either so I’ll try and get through as many as I can tonight and tomorrow.
As always I love to hear what you’re thinking so feel free to leave a comment if you want. Other than that, happy writing and goodnight.
Carol J Forrester - Writing and Works 
Just excellent eulogy to the power of women ♡
I’m glad you think so. 🙂
Your poem is incredibly well written better than anything I’ve read in a long time
That is an amazing comment to read. Thank you. 😀
And it is very true♡
THANK YOU. For pointing me to the original poem, and for your stunning response. Much love for this.
Thank you for commenting and I’m glad you enjoyed Sarah Kay’s work as well as my own. 🙂
Wow, just wow! I liked the words of the poem as well as your explanation that followed. I would say you came from strong woman stock. Each stanza describes a characteristic SO very well. I like the idea of never learning to bow one’s back & also ‘hearts cocooned in armor.’ I like the ending…which kind of flows the message forward…as the women pass it on and entrust it to someone else!
Thank you. I love how much people are enjoying this poem. It’s nice that one written about my family goes down so well.
This is SO good.
Thank you! That’s really great to hear.
Trickster of mind
and emotions
culture
of problem
solving.. heARts
of moving connecting
creating.. fires
put out..
art grows dArk..
liGht
comes
back..
EmoTions
move life..
are Spirit..
Mind and
body balance
iS SoUl for n0w…:)
Oh I think a poem like this describes women in a much better way than I have read before. The kind of strength we ask of women is so different than the strength we require from men. Impressive and thank you for ponying me to a poet I haven’t heard from.
That’s such a fantastic compliment to receive, thank you. 🙂
Fantastic read
Thank you. 🙂
Excellent write 🙂
Thank you. 🙂
both poems have great power
i imagine the women together
leaving trouble behind.
Haha, I love that idea.
In hindsight it is the others who should go.
much respect for the women.
Wow, I love Sarah Kay’s strong poem and your response is so authentic and moving. I love reading poems of strong women and how they carry on in the face of so much. Very inspiring!
I’m glad it could be inspiring. I was a little hesitant about posting it but I’m quite happy with it.
I’m glad to have read “Dragons” that you for linking it. Both your poem and hers are gripping. Excellent-superb poem,Carol
Thank you, I’m glad you think so and I’m glad enjoyed Sarah Kay. 🙂
” And ain’t I a woman?”
Hear me loud and strong….
Did you see Aretha Franklin sing “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” in tribute to Carole King at the Kennedy Center Awards? It’s on You Tube – powerful!
Love your response here!!!
Thank you and I haven’t seen it. I’ll You Tube it in a little while.
Love the introduction to Sarah’s exquisite poem…”your racket will wake the dragons” is fantastic!!! And your response is so personal and the fluidity of it is stunning. I especially LOVE, “until the faces we painted on
become the only ones we knew how to wear”–Whoa…that tells a lot in such a gorgeous way!
Thank you. It took me a few goes to get that sentence so I’m glad you liked it.
[…] ‘Jo’, my Great Gran in ‘Ba‘ and the women of my family as a whole in ‘The Women I Came From‘. Both my Grandfathers have poems about them, the one actually has two! The second poem […]