Happy International Women’s Day!

This poem is dedicated to every woman breaking the bias and being awesome in everything they do,

 

 I Break the Bias

I had been told

 I could not go further…. sometimes, I could not pinpoint 

The persons or issues  who stood to block my sun

Sometimes, they win the battle in my mind 

Sometimes, their reticence kills me slowly

Sometimes, the anxiety of waiting to hear back

From them wounds my spirit,

I am always waiting.

I wait for their affirmations

I wait for their consolations

But help from them never comes.

 

 They break me over time

 I become a shadow of myself

        Because they wore me down

          With their judgement, disdain and mistrust  

But,  I am more than my fears

I am more than my tears

I am more than what they expect

I am more than my pain

I am here for every gain

I am more than every dissappoinment

I am more than your doubts

I am more than your nervousness

I am not the rich darkness of my skin or the spots on my face

I am not my brokenness and my despair

I am not my weakness and my scars

If you look again, I am something good

I challenge gender stereotypes and bias

I  celebrate and inspire innovation

I  increase the visibility of  creative women

I educate women on their health choices

I  build inclusive workplaces so women thrive

I  applaud equality for women in sport and tech

I empower women everywhere 

Intentionally, I break the bias and create spaces

For women -like me- to breathe again.

I am not my pain nor my scars

I am telling stories to empower

Women like me, who against all odds

Caused the sun to stand still.

Look again, I am something:  really good!

 

 

Tee Adeyemo is the Publisher of Ladies Corner Magazine.

Ladies Junction and other Poetry: Miss Purple Poetry