would you read this poem if the title were feminist poem?
there’s a war going on and that’s a fact
`
she’s got her feminist face on, she said
and I and everyone around me laughed to say
ha ha we know that face ha ha
we know that angry women’s lib look
don’t fuck with a girl who used to wear steel toed shoes
because she wanted power like a man
being too afraid of women’s wily way
which slips in and out and does not hold
or so I thought
I’ll grip you while I twist my face
and then laugh because that’s all there is to do
when feminist power is just like any other female power
ridiculous
`
that’s what she called it
sarah palin, without so many words
and I stared at the tv screen and screamed
because I could not laugh at her
because she was just too real
too many men were laughing with her
like she’d made a funny joke at a bar
and they all wanted to get laid
but instead I kicked her
with my steel toes
`
here, lady governor, take my feet
and remember what it is to have no voice, no choice
but men’s boots on your body
you traitor to all women, you failure of a girl
and then I leave with all the men
`
that is a fantasy
the reality is no one leaves with me
`
at brearley they told us we were smart
but no one ever uttered pretty
like a dirty word
and whispered to one another
we’re not pretty
and laughed again to say we didn’t care
smart trumps pretty and so we win
but I never felt powerful until I felt sexy
and then I felt ashamed
