pigeons
are urban survivors
they are residents
of big cities
begging
or stealing
food
roosting
where they can
flashing their beauty
iridescent
or otherwise
at all who care to look
they come in every color
with
red feet
or brown
they are flying
decorations that fill the air
or sit on fences
watching the world go by
but what makes them happy
is seeing a friend
sitting on a park bench
one holding a bag
filled with seeds
Photo: Pixabay
women
are wild spirits
strong and free
they are brave
and dangerous
that’s why
their culture
does everything
in it’s power
to break
and control them
remember
who you are
Picture: Karen Cantú
Unsplash
this photo
reminds me of an ancient place
Egypt
Cleopatra
something with camels
fabulous ships
gems
armies
poverty
while rulers
take what they can
and glitter with gold
handmaidens
men who want more power
asps
that kind of thing
life
death
the Nile
under beautiful skies
and waving palm trees
lies
love
hate
and greed
and the fact
that nothing ever changes
other than the direction
of the wind
Picture: Pixabay
we all know
Harriet Tubman
Susan B.
Madam Curie
and the rest of our
foremothers
we know
Angela Davis
the poets
writers
screen stars
who even now
have a difficult time
getting roles
recognition
and equal pay
but don’t you think it’s
strange
that there is a
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
I mean
there is no
MEN’S HISTORY MONTH
but then
why would there be a
MEN’S HISTORY MONTH
see
white men allow women
and African Americans
to HAVE one
MONTH
a year
to celebrate the fact
that they
EXIST
and actually
DO AMAZING
AND IMPORTANT THINGS
while white males
have
EVERYDAY
of EVERY YEAR
to call their own
so there’s no need
for them to celebrate their existence
during a special month
because they celebrate
themselves
every single day
the months
dedicated to a certain group
are the crumbs thrown to
those who have no
real power
these months
are given to us
to keep us quiet
these months
are not threatening
to the establishment
or to the status quote
the men in charge
do not have to be afraid of us
instead
they hope we will be happy
with what we have been GIVEN
and ALLOWED TO HAVE
they are hoping that what they are
ALLOWING US TO HAVE
will stop us from fighting back
I think we should use our
MONTH
to stop being nice
and instead
kick ass
and show them what
warrior women can do
make sure everyone knows
how women were jailed
starved
denied medication
force fed
kept in filthy
damp cells
and all the rest
BY WHITE MEN
who also dragged the women through the streets
by their hair
and threw tomatoes at them
because they had the nerve
to demand the right to vote
these women were
FIGHTERS
WARRIORS
AND PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW
WHAT THEY DID
AND WHAT THEY CONTINUE TO DO
AND THAT WE ARE THE CHILDREN
OF THE WITCHES THEY DIDN’T GET TO BURN
THE CHILDREN OF
FIGHTING WOMEN
WHO WERE BRUTALIZED
JUST SO WE COULD VOTE
AND GET AN EDUCATION
GENERATIONS OF WOMEN
WHO GAVE UP EVERYTHING
TO MAKE A BETTER WORLD
FOR US
these are the foremothers
men have tried to
ERASE
THESE ARE THE WOMEN
we need to celebrate
and keep alive
these are the stories
children need to hear
the meek will never inherit
ANYTHING AT ALL
that’s just one more lie
told by another man
Picture: Antonio friedemann
Pexels
this is what people
are expected to do
remain silent
to shut up
never question
never speak out
or up
we lived
in a closed system
run by rich men
who care only
about themselves
what changed
after women marched
to protect their right
to abortion
to protect the right to
OWN THEIR OWN BODIES
what changed
after people marched
to end racism
and police brutality
what changed
after children marched
for gun control
and the end to mass school shootings
what changes
when we scream
and show up
NOTHING
nothing has changed
and no one is marching
and they know that we will
eventually
SHUT UP
and go back to the lives
they ALLOW us to have
and not bother them
for awhile
until they take more away from us
and we scream
and march
again
until we all go back to the even smaller
lives we are allowed to have
our lives are
controlled by a few
UGLY
heartless
rich
hateful
dictators
who work in government
or churches
and even some schools
and pass down their
hate
from day to day
greedy
selfish
men*
who live
to control others
and make absolutely sure
that no one ever comes after
THEM
Photo: Pato Lenin
Pixibay
*Women are not exempt. They just don’t have the power to do anything. And many right wing, conservative, women hate women as much as men do. Women are conditioned to hate themselves. That’s the saddest part. Women are taught to hate themselves and compete for resources (men) because they are often forced into poverty, raising children alone, which makes them less able to care for themselves. It keeps women weak, exhausted and often forced to marry, in order to survive. Women are literally forced into dependency. Just as the poor are kept that way as well.
None of the people in charge want equality across the board. The threat is so horrifying to them that they will do anything to keep the power they have over others. Nothing happens by accident. By making women compete against each other, by raising them to accept their lot in life and judge other women, they effectively stop us from being a huge force who could stand against them.
Look at the mess we’re in. Men did this. They are in charge. THIS is the world they made. Violent, ecologically unsound, dying, and filled with greed.
Hey, it’s just my opinion, of course. Others might think extinction of species, never ending war, and all the isms, are just fine.
when does life start
not when we’re born
that might have been when we took our first breaths
but we weren’t aware of anything
or if we were
we can’t remember what
because the memories we come here with
are erased
so we can begin again
learning to do the same things
we knew how to do
through one lifetime after another
but when I think about the beginning
I realize that
each of us is a hero of sorts
to come here
completely helpless
knowing nothing
and we just kind of look around
and begin
there is no manual
no inner movie playing
nothing to truly show us what to do
where to go
how to be
we don’t even think about those things
we just sit up
stand
learn how to walk
and head out
to learn on the fly
trying one thing
then another
figuring out what we need and want
throwing out things that don’t fit
but we don’t see ourselves as courageous
as beings who meet each day
without knowing what’s going to happen next
we have to decide what’s good
or bad
we don’t know why we’re here
we don’t even know what we are
or how we happen to live on a rock flying through space
we just accept that things like planets and suns hanging in the sky
that bees make honey
and that people can be hateful and dangerous
or loving and kind
but we can never tell which is which
and everyday
we get up and see what happens next
everyday we live our lives
with no guarantees
no promises
no certainty
we are frail
short lived entities
who have no real clue
about what’s going on
yet here we are
that’s pretty amazing
if you ask me
there’s a place
where shadows live
they don’t just go away
because we aren’t there
they exist without us
stretching
walking
playing
until they are called back to us
by the light
but they never sleep
and they are never gone
sometimes
they’re just somewhere else
Photo: Nick Shandra
Unsplash
s
the flowers liked being back outside
it made them happy
to feel the sun on their petals
the breeze pushing against their leaves
they heard the grass rustle next to them
and sighed
under the partly cloudy sky
they could once again
breathe
Photo: Anita Austvika
Unsplash
“Do you hear that?” she asked.
“Hear what?” he said.
The soft flutter of tiny wings
as they are cut from the backs of baby girls,
so they can never fly.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
The silent cries
of those whose voices
and lives
have been stolen from them.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
The sound of animals calling to their own kind
not knowing they are the last ones to exist.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
The sound of weeping mothers
who mourn over the bodies of their dead children
on battle fields and in the streets.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
The sound of the earth dying.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what”
The never ending lies
and hatred
that spills from the mouths
of those who enslave us
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
The screams of violence
that go on forever.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
The silence of those
who are hungry
and those who live
in fear.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
The sounds of joy
as our species
becomes extinct
it was just another day
in the garden
the sun was out
the flowers
were chatting
merrily
when suddenly
an unexpected guest arrived
and everything
changed
Photo: Pixabay
Rethinking Life 
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