Concrete
Smothering with profound prejudice,
Steadfast and solidified.
A weighted blanket
Suffocating open fields,
Splitting, when trees uproot,
But easily merged into
Systemic circulation.
Currents deterred by reinforced foundations;
Armor immune to ashing;
Wind is as it appears–
A constant plague on the souls
Who tread on me…
Outlasting those who march
On me tomorrow.
When the world grays
And all that lived are dust and dry venom,
My slab will lie vigilant.
I endure.
Her mother told her when she was young –
Be the kind of woman who can keep a family united.
A woman who guards and protects fragile relationships,
who cushions each family bond, so they don’t break.
But no one ever taught her how to fix the broken
pieces of her, trying to keep people together.
Too often are women expected to be the glue –
as if we are born to repair, hold together and rescue.
Too often are women left broken because the only thing
they couldn’t put back together was themselves.
Too often women break because they were never taught
to strengthen their foundations before learning to cement the lives of others.
