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Saturday, October 25, 2008

One Woman Lost

I opened a bank account

when I was nine years old


I closed it when I was eighteen


I gave them every penny that I'd saved


and they gave my blood


and my urine


a number


now I'm sitting in this waiting room


playing with the toys


and I am here to exercise


my freedom of choice


I passed their handheld signs


went through their picket lines


they gathered when they saw me coming


they shouted when they saw me cross


I said why don't you go home


just leave me alone


I'm just another woman lost


you are like fish in the water


who don't know that they are wet


as far as I can tell


the world isn't perfect yet


his bored eyes were obscene


on his denim thighs a magazine


I wish he'd never come here with me


in fact I wish he'd never come near me


I wish his shoulder wasn't touching mine


I am growing older


waiting in this line


some of lifes best lessons


are learned at the worst times


under the fierce flourescent


she offered her hand for me to hold


she offered stability and calm


and I was crushing her palm


through the pinch pull wincing


my smile unconvincing


on that sterile battlefield that sees


only casualties


never heros


my heart hit absolute zero


Lucille, your voice still sounds in me


mine was a relatively easy tragedy


now the profile of our country


looks a little less hard nosed


but that picket line persisted


and that clinic's since been closed


they keep pounding their fists on reality


hoping it will break


but I don't think there's a one of us


leads a life free of mistakes



-Lost Woman Song, Ani Difranco


4 comments:

Heathahlee said...

So very poignant.

Adam Ranck said...

Deep. Cut. and a bit confusing to me, heh.

Trixi said...

Oh, so heart wrenching. Thank you for sharing. It amazes me that people do not think, that a nation who willingly allows such autrocity will not be judged.

Jackie B. said...

Thank you for sharing this poem. It was very touching.