WOMANHOOD CHALLENGED

The weather is cold, and the night air stings,

All around the wind whistles and trees sing.

I shiver a little, unclothed, in a world uncaring:

My pathetic, wounded body is yours for staring.

I have no more wishes, the worst has happened:

I feel so alone, so morose and disheartened;

The world is wicked for I am invisible,

No longer a sister, no longer a daughter,

Just an object for a man's carnal pleasure.

Am I not a woman, another human being,

Or am I a mere piece of china without any feeling?

THE TALLOW CANDLE

My birth occurred in strange circumstances,
As I emerged from the womb of a bleating Ewe
And the Melting Pot's hearty warmth and radiance.
But my birth it seemed, was in vain, and I knew
Not whether my life had any purpose.

'Twas then that my life was filled with the glow
Of love, sparked in my being and my very soul
By one who makes me satisfied and whole,
And leaves me undoubting of the joyous world.

The love of the Tinderbox guides me well
In my solemn search for the spirit, in a cell,
Trapped in the longings of the world of matter
The mirrors of which constantly shatter
To reveal the murky truths of desire.

The darkened paths are now revealed,
By the power of love and joy received -
Love, the only medicine in the world.