Caterina Gironda, who sent in this lovely poem:
I want to tell you that I am woman,
Because I feel my womb swell once a month,
And bleed with the promise to produce a new life.
I want to tell you that I am woman,
Because I recall when my hymen bled like a head wound
with the first thrust of a man.
But I am sorry, Ms. Steinem,
I no longer know what woman and man even means.
I no longer know what brings us together and who we feminist against.
I no longer can shelter us under one umbrella,
Can find a rallying cry to bring us out to march,
Can glance in solidarity at a sister survivor.
For I have met too many who resist our definitions,
Who wear a different body, and don a different voice,
But who am I to say the she is not a woman,
Who am I, anyway?
Caterina has won two tickets to next week’s screening of Hey, Boo, the documentary about Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird, at the Paley Center. Other winners will be contacted by email. Thanks to everyone who entered!
3 Comments
That’s a great poem!
And a pretty great prize, too!
Such a strong poem. It seems sad, but still beautiful and powerful.
I normally do not like poetry, but I found this to be very moving.