from between the teeth of mothers
history has been stolen,
stolen by men and decay,
by fate —
a cruel mother to us all.
mothers,
tell me how to prosper
on earth scorched, to remove the last trace of you
how to sustain myself
on air singed with smoke.
mother, tell me
where is there safety,
the earth cannot save us
the men violate her too,
she has been suffering for far longer than I
and I am far too small to help her.
the only solace comes in musings of the time to come,
when womanhood is not shaped by terror
when our daughters will know safety;
in sovereign skin, under sovereign skies
and when beneath them, the earth can rest gently once more.
