Tag / women

by Carol J Forrester

#BalanceforBetter – Poem for #InternationalWomen’sDay

Keep your balance and your wits

grasped tight.

Knot them between your fingers

like purse straps

when the street empties to darkness

and even the lamplight

does little to chase away shadows.

There’s no rescuing dignity

if you spill,

heels caught in the rickets

of this ladder we’ve built

from the bones of those who wept

behind closed doors.

Emotion would prove them woman

and that was weakness,

still is

in the eyes of some.

So the weak gift their spines and prayers,

hollow themselves into armour

for the next generation,

and the one after that,

in a desperation that they will be the drop

that tips the scales to even.

 

by Carol J Forrester

Turn To Stone #DVersePoets #TuesdayPoetics

I gathered the stones myself,

stacked them before you

like a temple offering,

my skin the sacrifice

as I bared it inch by inch

and asked for a blessing

you denied me

until the pile was fragments

and my flesh peppered

with your approval.

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by Carol J Forrester

Once Upon A Twist #DVerseQuadrille

One sip

to poison a prince,

his teeth sunk

into forbidden fruit,

while one-true-love stands

waiting,

patient,

the perfect good girl

all fairy-tales and smiles,

alone.

Drinks her own potion,

steps free

of skin

crafted from paperbound

volumes brittle with age.

Breathes.

Finally.

Screams.

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by Carol J Forrester

‘A Love Sonnet For The Collective He’ – DVerse Poets Form Challenge

I pretended not to hate you last night,

knees pressed into your pelvis like stone fists,

your cold, clever lips there against my wrist

with promises you would make things alright

once the morning at last brought home some light

and you could show me why we must persist,

how without you, I would barely exist,

and why it was pointless for me to fight.

But I kept count of those lies and those kisses.

every feathered touch up, along my ire,

and each time I should have taken your tongue

when your arrogance stoked up this fire

and told me I did not have strength to rise

when you were the one crawling all along.

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Bjorn is hosting the first Poetry Form night of at the DVerse Poets Pub and he’s picked an old fling to throw up as the first challenge. While I played with sonnets years ago, I went off them in the same way I went off most fixed form poetry. However, anyone who’s been around this blog for the last few days will know that I’m trying to dip my toe back into that particular poetry pool so I was going to give this a fair shot.

One hour later I have what I hope is a presentable sonnet that goes against the assumption that sonnets are all about love. I wanted to give this old form a modern, feminist twist.

It deserves a little shaking up after all that twisting the rhyme scheme had me doing.

If you fancy joining in the form fun then click the badge above to check out Bjorn’s post and also to find the rest of the brave poets taking on sonnets for the evening.

Best of luck and I hope you enjoy.

by Carol J Forrester

Standardized Time

Whoever standardized time

did a piss-poor job.

I could tell them for a fact

that Wednesday move more slowly

when there is less to do,

and Mondays always arrive

much quicker than they leave,

yet Fridays take their sweet time

no matter the cheering from the stands

because let’s face it

they’ve worked out who’s top dog

before the firing pistol went off

and they don’t need to rush

to prove their walking home with gold.

Whoever standardized time,

did a piss poor job of the whole damn thing.

Because a second becomes a moment

when the right person holds it,

and a minute becomes an hour,

when your waiting for the answer

or the result,

or the next sentence in a conversation

you really don’t want to see through.

Worst of all is the touch,

that barely lasts at all,

that goes before you noticed it

and leaves you wondering for months

if you should have seen it coming.

Standardized Time – Audio Recording