Saturday, April 13, 2013

Power in words


                                       One . . .


By Sharon Hwang Colligan

1. ONE                                                           4. WE LOVED
Well                                                                     Though she and I separated I
the straights talk of                                             vowed never to forget nor
heterosexual thrusting as if it were                   deny the fires she ignited in my body
the only real                                                         & soul 
form of                                                                 I chose at 17 to
sexual fulfillment and                                          claim
the straights tense if I touch them to raise       the word Dyke to commit my fate
and                                                                      to that of the lesbians
the gays make jokes about “breeders”           when the witch hunters came they
and                                                                     would have to
fall silent if I mention my (male)                        come for me too
lover                                                                    even if by that time I had married
I look for books on bisexuality but                   him
They are all about married men or                  none of the coming-out stories
Have titles like “two lives to lead” –                 or other writings I devoured
Well I am NOT a man and will                          Seventeen alone and bisexual
never                                                                  never once
Lead two lives I am one woman                      validated my reality never once
ONE ONE ONE                                                offered a story
I thought Gay Rights meant being                   of a relationship     
able                                                                    neither abusive nor boring
to love who I love                                               with a male lover
                                                                           My new & fragile lesbian world was
2. YOU SEE                                                      as important to me as my own bones
I am white Chinese                                           But
I am bisexual Lesbian                                      in the women’s journals were
                                                                           quiet signs of
3. MY FATHER 
is Polish and Irish and German                      You Are Not Welcome everywhere
long blended in America                                   I looked at myself and realized
My mother is the child of                                   
two brave Chinese who                                    
survived                                                           
in an alien and hating land                                
to raise bright and beautiful                               
middle-class daughters
who no longer speak Chinese
who work to succeed
to pass
White racism against my yellow
family and self is a crime the
criminals
are of my own white
family, my own pale skin color





                          I Am An Emotional Creature

                                                                      by Eve Ensler

                                                                  I love being a girl.
                                                            I can feel what you're feeling
                                                                as you're feeling it inside
the feeling
before.

I am an emotional creature.
Things do not come to me
as intellectual theories or hard-shaped ideas.
They pulse through my organs and legs
and burn up my ears.
I know when your girlfriend's really pissed off
even though she appears to give you what 
you want.
I know when a storm is coming.
I can feel the invisible stirrings in the air.
I can tell he won't call you back.
It's a vibe I share.

I am an emotional creature.
I love that I do not take things lightly.
Everything is intense to me.
The way I walk in the street.
The way my mother wakes me up.
The way I hear bad news.
The way it's unbearable when I lose.

I am an emotional creature.
I am connected to everything and everyone. 
I was born like that.
Don't you dare say all negative that it's a 
teenage thing
or it's only because I'm a girl.
These feelings make me better.
They make me ready.
They make me present.
They make me strong.

I am an emotional creature.
There is a particular way of knowing.
It's like the older women somehow forgot.
I rejoice that it's still in my body.

I know when a coconut's about to fall.
I know that we've pushed the earth too far.
I know my father isn't coming back.
That no one's prepared for the fire.
I know that lipstick means
more than show.
I know that boys feel super insecure 
and so-called terrorists are made, not born.
I know that one kiss can take
away all my decision-making ability
and sometimes, you know, it should.

This is not extreme.
It's a girl thing.
What we would all be
if the big door inside us flew open.
Don't tell me not to cry.
To calm down.
Not to be so extreme.
To be reasonable.
I am an emotional creature.
It's how the earth got made.
How the winds continue to pollinate.
You don't tell the Atlantic Ocean to behave.

I am an emotional creature.
Why would you want to shut me down
or turn me off?
I am your remaining memory.
I am connecting you to your source.
Nothing's been diluted.
Nothing's leaking out.
I can take you back.

I love that I can feel the inside 
of the feelings in you,
even if it stops my life
even if it hurts too much
or takes me off my track
even if it breaks my heart, 
It makes me responsible.
I am an emotional
I am an emotional, devotional,
incandotional, creature.
And I love, hear me, 
love love love
being a girl.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Source?