Sister, my intention was not to write a political poem,
But everyone wants to know,
Why couldn't she run somewhere far away,
Where he can't find her?
They must know,
Had she no money,
Or was she just,
Brainwashed?
When all the stars spell out economic degradation,
People as possessions,
And free expression
Reigns over the most basic relation
Between humans,
And still, they must know,
Why couldn't she just run somewhere far away,
Where he can't find her,
Had she no money saved up,
Or was she brainwashed?
Maybe they teach on the playground,
That when a boy hits another boy,
They both get time out?
But Teacher, you left something out.
Teacher, you left someone out.
I must know,
Why it's so hard to be educated,
When violence is PG rated,
But sex is bad.
Sex is bad.
And it's so hard to be cultured
By Miller, Miles, Ginsburg, Dylan, Picasso, Rolling Stones,
I sing the blues.
And baby,
I just wanna hold you,
And let you know that you are safe in my art.
Except safety is just as much an illusion as the woman on the billboard,
The woman in the movie, in the magazine, in the club,
On the street
Who calls herself,
Empowered.
And still we criminalize her while we sell cookies for the football team,
Turning a black eye to frat culture is economic degradation,
Had she no money?
So go ahead and send the kids to boy and girl scouts,
And Pledge Allegiance to Gender Obedience on your playgrounds,
Where compliance is a sign of female maturity
And confrontations are for Boys Only.
So we teach our daughters to Shut Up and Take It
Like a woman,
Ignore those boys and Shut Up and Take It,
Like a woman,
Shut Up and Take It,
Bitch.
The bell rings and your girls politely pledge allegiance to the
Land of the Free,
And like Lady Liberty with her extended arm,
Look to the horizons beyond life as a trophy,
A pretty thing to look at, gawk at, curse at spit at,
Get off on anything as long as it's against her will,
Hunt like an animal,
A chicken, a bitch, a pussy and still
They must know,
Why couldn't she run away?
Rickie Gal performs as a musician and spoken word artist under the name Twilight of the Idle.
Her music can be found at www.myspace.com/twilightoftheidle
www.myspace.com/rickiegal
Art by Rachel Valley
www.NiftyImages.com
& Marci Erspamer
www.MARCIJERSPAMER.com