Is my feminist t-shirt hung out to dry?
Permanently?
And does it matter?
Do protests and independence a feminist make?
And do I forfeit my own,
Because I have a husband who cares?
My feminist t-shirt
Is old and tattered, but it would be,
As it goes back to when I was just 5 years old…
“If a man can’t fold his own clothes,
He better stay with his mommy!”
Out of the mouths of babes!
Throughout my childhood,
And later too,
Dresses and skirts were the bane of my existence.
My mother said, “Jeans aren’t lady-like.”
My mind asked,
“Who said I was a lady?”
I went to my Junior Prom,
Not with a date,
But with my kind-hearted brother-in-law.
We had fun (not dancing),
Drinking coffee
And eating cheesecake.
I never dated,
But managed to get married. What?
And have a child.
Still independent,
I took care of the finances,
And any overdrafts were mine, not his.
Fast forward…
Divorce was the right move
For my spirit that would not be boxed in.
Yes, I paid that bill too.
But not even my feminist t-shirt
Could assuage my guilt.
I played a part,
But was it all my fault?
Did it matter?
Fast forward 4 years,
When I met a man
Who admired my feminist t-shirt!
Two years later, we married,
Deeply in love
And traveling through life together.
“What’s mine is yours,” he says.
I get the bills paid,
But the money comes in his name.
I ask for what I want;
He gives what he can and never turns me down.
But still I wonder…
Is my feminist t-shirt hung out to dry?
Permanently?
And does it matter?
Do protests and independence a feminist make?
And do I forfeit my own,
Because I have a husband who cares?
Mystical Strings 
You must be logged in to post a comment.