Stripes Earned

What do you have that can define who you are?

Do you have a look, a stance, have you passed the bar??

You look at me and see what you want to see

Are you motivated by hate or are you filled with jealousy?

Why do we as a people feel this need to belittle,

Did you walk our walk, shed our tears,

did you see or were you there to comfort our fears?

Racial hate, disabilities, and more

now bullying on a rise, with gender inequality coming out of our pores

We make children yet as the saying goes not their mind,

Did you spend hours in labour to tell me how to raise my child, 

were you there when the cupboard were bare, 

when the lights were out and i gave my last share,

to feed my brood of black beautiful babies,

Is this what you think, do you think you're saintly.

My body bares the marks of motherhood and its trials,

they did not ask to come, but in god's wisdom he sent them

for he knew that it would change us.

He knew that this change would bring spirals

a never ending chain of wisdom borne from the fruit of wombs,

of world class excellence, of hope and truth,

You look at my child with genetic defects

How would you feel if it came from you?

Would you see the beauty in an innocent smile,

how would you see the grandeur in a rose,

the loveliest colours in a butterfly?

Yet there you stand and spew and gorge yourself

with hatefilled words of a situation i have yet to come to terms with.

You say men rule, but don't you know where you came from?

You came from inside us , what would you have done,

If we as women decide no more

We don't need to procreate the male class anymore

We would only make the female gender, get rid of male babies to bring peace evermore,

Only keep a few and force them to become

male prostitutes, beggars and workers and maids to do our chores,  

wouldn't you stand up and shout for equality 

wouldn't you bemoan your liberty, 

wouldn't you stand up for your right to vote,

a voice to be heard, from whispers to groans.

if you had to live in a society like this 

wouldn't you strive for just one taste.

As women just take one look at our bodies 

before the children came, weren't we a perfect species,

but you forced your way into that depth

filled us with your sweetness and with that crept

Your offspring another boy or girl

we become mothers and for that 

our stripes  we earned.