If

If a woman lay down

all the toil, pain grief and anguish

seeped out of every pore

to leave her soul calm and quiet

If she closed her eyes

and shut her ears and mind

to all of the screaming, insults, poisoned words

that terrorised  her every move

if she padlocked her heart

and froze its movement, withheld her love

forbade any feeling

would she die- or be reborn