Why can’t girls …

18/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



        Darling daughter, you look sad

        What’s on your mind, my sweet?

        You seem a little upset, my dear,

        Is there something I can fix?



My friends at school were talking

About what their daddies do

And when I said I wanted to be like them

They said they were only jobs for dads.



        What type of jobs did they mention?

        I’m sure I’ve never seen a job

        That only men are qualified for,

        Let’s see this list of yours!



Why can’t girls play football?

I can run

And kick

And tackle.



        You can do all those things

        And you could be the next Sam Kerr

        Or maybe Daisy Pearce

        If you really wanted to.



Why can’t girls be software developers?

I can code

And am creative

And have an eye for detail.



        There are many women in software

        Just ask Jaime Gunther or Jane Chau

        And they’ll give you a long, long list

        If that’s what you want to do.



Why can’t girls be farmers?

I can sheet a sheep

And milk a cow

And plough a field.



        A lot has changed in this century

        And many women run farms

        I’m sure Lorraine Gordon

        Could shed a little light.



Why can’t girls work construction?

I can drive heavy machinery

And use power tools

And push a wheelbarrow.



        There’s no part of that you shouldn’t do

        If that’s your chosen profession

        If you want a female tradie

        Then Penny Petridis is the person to ask,



Why can’t girls be engineers?

I can design technological solutions

And test production lines

And analyse risks.



        You could be a chemical engineer like Marlene Kanga

        Or do infrastructure like Elizabeth Taylor

        Maybe defence engineering like Trish White

        Or take on the civil side like Mehreen Faruqi



Why can’t girls be astronauts?

I can study the planets

And work in microgravity

And be away from my family.



        Christina Koch and Jessica Meir

        Have done a lap or two

        Around this planet we call home

        And maybe you will, too



Why can’t girls be architects?

I can design skyscrapers

And be a visionary

And plan every step.



        Have you heard of Momoyo Kaijima?

        Well, you should probably look her up,

        I’m sure he was headstrong just like you

        When she was a little girl.



Why can’t girls be firefighters?

I can hold a hose

And carry more than my weight

And risk my life.



        We’ve got captains and assistant commissioners

        Who are in the fire service

        Like Louise Livermore and Rebel Talbert

        Not to mention all-female crews!



Why can’t girls be pilots?

I can understand meteorological information

And be calm under pressure

And remember what all the buttons do.



        Deborah Wardley was told she couldn’t

        But she proved them very wrong,

        And Nancy Bird Walton

        Is getting an airport named after her. 



Why can’t girls be judges?

I can study hard

And be impartial

And uphold the law.



        I hardly think Virginia Bell

        Let a man tell her she couldn’t be a judge

        Or he’d have been appearing before her

        In a supreme case of misogyny



Why can’t girls be CEOs?

I can run a business

And handle problems

And manage money.



        Melanie Perins didn’t let being a girl

        Stop her in her tracks

        When she started up her business

        That’s now massive in tech.



So, I can be anything

Just like all those other girls?

Do you really think it’s possible

For me to be like them?



        Not only is it possible,

        It’s practically a guarantee

        And don’t let anyone tell you

        You can’t because you’re a girl.

Determined

14/11/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation

Determination, energy, and courage appear spontaneously when we care deeply about something. We take risks that are unimaginable in any other context. – Margaret J. Wheatley



        I



I cannot imagine the determination

Of the women who have gone before me

Who fought for the rights I enjoy

When the odds were stacked against them.



Where would I be without those pioneers

Whose courage in the face of hardship

Granted me the voice I take for granted

Having never had to fight a day in my life?



The tenacity is must have taken

To stand up for equality

To demand what should be given

Without a second thought.



        II



To confront the injustices before us

We must draw on our determination

And use the privilege we have acquired

Until we are all on equal footing.



To protect those still fighting

For that which should be free

We must harness our determination

And be a force with which to be reckoned.



To not know if you would succeed

But giving it everything you have

In the hopes of creating a better world

For those who would come after.



        III



Do not think your freedoms

A burden which you must bear

For that is a grave disservice

To those who paved the road under foot.



Take their strength as your strength

And stand on the shoulders of giants

For they have given you your voice

To use now that they cannot.



Give you voice to your children

So they may continue to create

A future for all people

Not just a select few



        IV



Women suffered for your suffrage

So long denied to them

By those who claimed governance

Based on the genetics of their birth.



Yet, still, so many women

Throw their vote into the trash

For no better reason than

It’s all a bit too hard.



Hard is having no voice

And no recourse to change your fate

While men exercise their power

With no care or concern for you.



        V



Women marched for free movement

Beyond the supervision of the men

Who granted fathers, husbands, brothers

The power to keep you against your will.



If we abandon our will to others

We are little more than slaves

Seeking permission to exist

While those same men seem to thrive.



The success of men who hold women down

Is always predicated on the choices of women

To allow that type of behaviour

To remain unchecked and unpunished.



        VI



Women birthed reproductive reform

Giving us the sexual revolution

And the right to our own body

To do with as we please.



They continue to fight for consent

And to ensure women are believed,

To make the world a safe place for all

And that all women are seen as equal.



And now we must join with them

To be united in our heroism

That binds us together as women

And makes us stronger as people.



        VII



So hold on to your determination

Let it guide you through the night

As a shining light lit by women

Who burn brighter than the sun.



Drink in their determination

Let it overflow from your cup

And may it refresh you in your journey

To maintain the battlefront.



One day we will see the fruits

Of the labour of so many generations

And of so many women

So were fierce in their determination.

How to Drive Me Wild

02/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



Some people get a kick

Out of kinks and other things

That happen in the bedroom

Or outside on the swings.



But if you really want to know

How to drive a woman wild

You need to do just a couple of things

And your request will be duly filed.



Learn to cook a delicious breakfast

Or be able to clean a house;

Make laundry your priority

And don’t be such a louse.



Tell me that you love me

At any time of day

And listen without interruption

To every word I say.



See, it’s not so very hard, you know,

To get the woman you desire:

Just be perfect in every single way

And your love life won’t be so dire.



But if you can’t achieve perfection

A good and loving heart will do,

Be the man you always dreamed you’d be

And ecstasy will surely ensue.