and our mothers shall lead us
grey haired with the wisdom of their years
plastic buckets and metal bowls as drums to pound with their voices
(this is not their first rodeo)
and we shall be heard
chanting
chanting
because we march for our daughters
and our sons
we march for our mothers
and ourselves
there is a photo going around
a grey-haired woman with a sign
“I can’t believe I still have to protest this fucking shit”
and i agree
i agree so hard my ovaries hurt
this fight has been fought
we are well on our way to equality
but no, no, no clearly that’s false
or maybe it was true and just isn’t anymore
we are still fighting for women’s equality
we are still fighting for autonomy and the right to say no
or yes
we are still fighting for freedom of choice when it comes to what grows inside us
and i’ve been angry about this for a long time
blood-boiling mad
because so many people seem so blind to reality
otherwise we wouldn’t have to keep fighting these fights
these same fights that we thought we already won
i’ve been saying that The Handmaid’s Tale is not supposed to be an instruction manual
but i’m going to take a heel turn here and say that NOW it is
i’m going to reread it as a cautionary tale of complacency
i’m going to reread it as a reminder that it’s never too late to fight
i’m going to reread it as an instruction manual against the fascist patriarchy
from here i hope to be one of the mothers that lead us
because this is not the way i want to live
this is not the way i want my son to grow into a man
this is not okay