I Am a Delightful Woman

I’ve recently found myself tongue-tied and astonished. Astonished to see women rallying together in the name of “femininity” or “womanhood” but intentionally distorting the very nature of that name. Yes, I’ve been astonished to watch celebrities such as Meryl Streep, Madonna, and Ashley Judd admonish leaders they believe obstruct the beauty and value of women while refusing to value the one inherent procreative distinction that makes all women unique themselves.

As a former creative writing teacher, I know that sometimes when one feels tongue-tied, poetry is a better way to capture a sentiment…so I took a stab at my own counter-poem to Judd’s reading of “I Am A Nasty Woman” at the Women’s March. Please see it below.

Delightful Woman

Some women are indeed nasty;

They speak through twisted smiles and darkened eyes

Treating youthful hearts as a burrow,

To sow their dusty mirrors seeing only one reflection:

A weathered, tortured face—with

no eyes, no ears, no lips, no tears,

For redemption

 

BUT I, I am not one of these women.

No, I am a delightful woman,

 

One who threw that dusty mirror in the well,

So I could see with delightful eyes that swell and swell

With all that is beyond, above, below, beside—

The grass, the water, the glen, the sky—

Eyes that soak in this art that strokes across my path…

If I just choose to let it in.

 

Yes, I am a delightful woman.

 

One who lets a child’s chuckle warm my heart and hands—

So I can touch and lift them up in light and joy

Because I delight, knowing their future is now part of my plan,

And any toil and trouble for me and them

Might burn briefly but come out a stronger, fire-formed gem

 

Yes, I am a delightful woman.

 

One who speaks in concert with open ears

That judge His triumphant Truth against the dying voice of fear,

One who walks with lioness mystery to those trappers on my trail—

those with ears of wood, eyes of sand,

dumb and deaf to the rhythm of my delightful, heavenly clan

 

Yes, I am a delightful woman.

 

But nasty as these other women can be,

Fleeing further and further from eternity,

I delight to think that grace can shake their mirrors from their hands

to know the Father, the Spirit, and yes,

the Man;

That one day they too may find peace through the darkness they breed

and delight in the Lord along with me, as

it should be.

Copyright 2017