Tell a woman that, deep inside,
deep in her heart, where no one can see,
she holds the flame that lights the
world.
Tell a woman that no one can ever
extinguish that flame.
Not anyone, be he bigger than her, stronger than her,
faster than her, angrier than her,
drunker than her, more
convinced he is right.
This flame is our secret, all
women’s. We are born with it.
With this flame, we
work two jobs while raising three kids,
and we give them piano lessons.
With this flame, we
cross oceans
so our children can grow up strong
without stigma.
With this flame, we nurse our elders,
and our young ones too,
often at the same time,
keeping an eye
on bill payments,
scrounging for food and rent.
Tell a woman she has a huge bright flame
ready to flare up in her heart,
and she’s not alone. We all have one,
we who walk tall, and we who are under
the thumb,
we who speak here now, and we who have
been silenced,
we all share this flame, it’s an eternal
flame,
it’s hot, and it’s brilliant, and it
never goes away.
Tell a woman, this is our birthright,
this is who we are,
we, the women, the people of the womb,
who carry the world, who yearn for love
and honor,
who, somewhere deep inside,
will never
be denied, will never give in.
Tell a woman, this is who we are,
all of
us aflame, all of us women,
all of us carrying that precious fire
that guides our days,
that reminds us of
what this life really means,
that shows us its light and tells us how
to move,
how to be, how to turn, how to love each
day.
Tell a woman, she
has a pure flame deep in her heart
that can never be extinguished, that
cannot be pushed under,
that can never be broken,
that does not
bleed away,
that cannot be raped or beaten down,
that can only rise higher,
that flares
up within us,
and with each step brightens, and lights
our way,
brighter and brighter, as we see our
flames
more clearly, more loudly, more
assuredly, more proudly,
all of us gazing at that brand new day,
not much longer now, just on the horizon,
when we look at a woman and know,
with her light, she leads the way.
Annelinde Metzner
January 15, 2013
I wrote this poem in 2013 for an event called "One Billion Rising" envisioned by Eve Ensler and celebrated around the world. This event, and my poem, were created to bring women together to know their own power, and to break the chains that bind us.
Here are a couple of photos from the event.
 |
| Myself reading at "One Billion Rising" |
 |
| Listeners at the event |
