Women

The plight of women in this,

Modern commanding, growing nation,

Drowning in tears, fear and anger,

Only to be said,

To protect themselves,

To take care of themselves,

To speak less,

To smile less,

To laugh less,

To not wear less,

To keep their eyes down,

And their ears deaf to the catcalls,

Their lipstick shade lighter,

The makeup not too sparkly,

Their skin not too revealing,

To always walk with their hands made into a

fist,

Thumb in, nails carving half moons on the palms,

To know how to throw a punch,

To know karate, taekwondo, judo,

To carry pepper, to spray on eyes rather

than food,

To cramp into spaces,

To avoid the darkness,

To hide, cover, run, avoid,

And eventually get,

Harassed,

Touched,

Catcalled,

Followed.

Mocked,

Abused,

Looked at with bad intentions,

Get bumped into them accidentally,

Be worried,

Always be on fight or flight mode,

Will it ever get better?

Will we ever breathe?

Then they mockingly say, women.

This is the plight of women.

Women.

Yes, women.