Times past, I was bound by the rules,

kept in the home, kept busy with chores,

told who to marry, ordered, commanded

and kept from life by marginalising laws.

—

I had a taste of life where I could be me,

I travelled, I studied, I worked with zeal,

I felt the sun on my face and grew strong,

nurtured by books and treated as real.

—

Now, I hurt, the bitter taste in my mouth

of commands, Stay Home! girls, No school!

my daughters harmed, no skilled work for me,

we are pushed back in that dark age’s rule.

—

THOSE X CHROMOSOMES CANNOT

MAKE ME A FOOL, OR DIM OR NEEDY,

A CHATTEL, A SLAVE TO BE CHAINED.

I AM VALUABLE, JUST FOR BEING ME!