W is for Woman

WOMAN

The housewife of old was meek and mild

She looked after the house and her child

She tended to all her man’s needs

Then found time to pull up some weeds

She cleaned and washed and cooked all day long

Listening to the radio and enjoying the pop songs

Matching handbags and shoes,

Twinsets and pearls

Hair neatly coiffed and lacquered

All meals were home cooked and catered

No machines to save time and energy

Any ambitions to work were thought to be haughty

She was there to toe the line

To comfort, nurture and be his sunshine

Nothing was too much trouble, never angry

Abused physically and mentally by all and sundry

As time went on it wasn’t enough

So women found the strength to rebuff

The social norms of their lives and times

Sometimes having to commit crimes

Suffragettes and pioneers who wouldn’t be beaten

We need to thank our brave women who were certain

Who led from the front for their sisters and daughters

To find the right answers our female warriors

Taking voice and fighting hard to unite

Making sure it’s everyone’s birthright

Regarded and respected as any other human being

Genuinely admired and loved with feeling

So now we are in the 21^st century

Some women are still living in penury

Working hard to change women’s lives

No longer willing to be captives

Standing against discrimination and prejudice

Knocking down the walls of the fortress

Dismissing the world of unfair bigotry

And get everyone to agree.

Standing up for women’s rights and others

As did our grandmothers and great grandmothers

Not only for sex discrimination or prejudice

Righting the wrongs in the world with fairness

Thinking of the whole world with compassion

Helping out others with consideration

Lots of empathy and sympathy along the way

Shining a light on problems small and large giving a brighter day.