A Poem for January 30th: Inspired by Gloria Steinem

Today’s poem is focused on women’s empowerment and always pursuing our dreams.

In Gloria Steinem’s book, My Life on the Road, I was surprised to find out she much preferred to write and observe, and public speaking was something she had to learn to feel comfortable doing. Even a community trailblazer like Gloria started in unfamiliar territory. She wrote,

“That’s why, if I had to name the most important discovery of my life,
it would be the portable community of talking circles;
groups that gather with all five senses,
and allow consciousness to change.”

Gloria’s Gift

I read about how Gloria Steinem’s mother wanted to pursue her career as a journalist
but her needs were wiped away with other obligations and misunderstood like
women decades later described by Sylvia Plath in The Bell Jar and
Betty Friedan’s Smith alumnae from The Feminine Mystique
who suffered with brilliance and suffocation
Why does society often want women to look out the window but not catch their star?

Today there are women who’ve heard the stories of generations ago,
and we question why we’re hearing rumblings again of dreams wiped away
by a timid administration with hats too
big for their small minds

A girl with wild curls and light brown eyes looked away from the blaring television and asked,
“What does the future look like?”

With a smile of knowledge and conviction towards the horizon,
Gloria said, “I’ll show you.”