As a woman,
I am afraid.
I am alone,
(I fear I will always be alone).
I am loved,
(I fear love is fleeting).
I have a family who loves me,
(I fear I will disappoint).
I have passion for life,
(A delicate flicker of flame that will burn out into the abyss of night).
I am alive,
(I fear death).
I am young,
(I fear growing old).
I am beautiful,
(I fear that familiar look from a man)
I am naive,
(A privilege so easily ripped away with one malicious act).
I am surrounded by women,
I am not afraid.
I have hope.
Rachel Brouwer
This was a piece I wrote as a reflection of what is going on in the world. I wrote this and submitted it to the hope writing contest around the time of the Presidential inauguration. This was a time when I was looking for hope in something, and I found it in the community of women I was sorrounded by. This piece won in one category of the Hope writing contest.
Rachel, what a beautiful poem. I really enjoy the content in terms of women during the time of the inauguration, I’m so glad you shared. By using the parenthesis you really capture a comparative nature to what is not in parenthesis and that is awesome. I’m definitely a fan of the stand you took for women by writing this poem, it’s inspiring thanks for sharing!
Rachel, I love this poem. Specifically your use of punctuation with the parentheses is impactful to readers. I also see this piece as an inspirational poem for others who are hoping for the same thing but at the moment too scared to admit it. Great work!
Rachel, I thought is was a really good poem, and the separation between each columns makes it more powerful as well as the parentheses. Good job!